US National Whitewater Center Needs County Permit To Reopen

Whitewater sports are on hold at the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte. The center will need a county permit to reopen the facility where a visitor got a deadly infection last summer.

The center applied Feb. 23 for the annual operating permit from the Mecklenburg County health department, with plans to resume water activities on March 4th.

The county began requiring the permit after 18-year-old Lauren Seitz of Westerville, Ohio, died of a rare brain infection caused by a single-celled amoeba. Seitz visited the center in June of 2016.   

The amoeba is widespread in warm, open waters. Infections are rare but almost always fatal.

The county is reviewing the center's application and will inspect the facility before it issues a permit. 

The permit can be suspended if the center doesn't maintain water-quality or safety standards.