# PortAventura water park pool contamination

> Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/portaventura-water-park-pool-contamination
> Updated: 2026-08-22T16:00:00.000Z. Sources: 5. Developments: 2.

Several pools at the Caribe Aquatic Park within PortAventura were temporarily closed following the discovery of human waste in the water. Lifeguards evacuated both adult and children’s swimming areas immediately upon discovery.

Management stated that the closures were a strict adherence to sanitary protocols established by the Agència de Salut Pública de Catalunya (ASPCAT), which mandates immediate shutdowns in cases of visible organic waste. While initial reports noted speculation regarding whether the incident was an accident or related to a viral trend, subsequent reports linked the incident to the ‘brown challenge’ (or ‘el reto marrón’), a TikTok trend involving intentional defecation in pools to trigger closures. 

Reports indicated the situation had normalized and pools had reopened by the following Wednesday.

## Timeline

### 2026-08-22: PortAventura water park closes pools due to human waste

PortAventura's Caribe Aquatic Park in Spain closed two pools after human excrement was found, an incident linked to the viral TikTok ‘brown challenge’ trend.

2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/portaventura-water-park-closes-pools-due-to-human-waste

### 2026-08-19: PortAventura Caribe Aquatic Park closes pools due to waste

Several pools at PortAventura Caribe Aquatic Park were temporarily closed on Tuesday after human waste was detected in the water, triggering immediate sanitary protocols and evacuations.

3 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/portaventura-caribe-aquatic-park-closes-pools-due-to-waste

---
Cite as: PortAventura water park pool contamination. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/portaventura-water-park-pool-contamination