Photo Credit: Aquatic Design & Engineering
More and more, parks- and government-operations directors are choosing to include different types of interactive water features instead of swimming pools, citing smaller up-front costs, no lifeguard costs, and less long-term maintenance. Splash pads do offer these benefits, but if they’re designed and constructed without the proper engineering, there could be significant problems.
Considerations For The Environment
Parks operators naturally must walk a fine line between serving the public and preserving the community’s environment. When space is committed for any type of community amenity, it’s important to consider not only the initial investment (financial and dedicated land) but also the ongoing needs and resources for its operation.
For this reason, many municipalities are eschewing the idea of a swimming pool because of the amount of water needed. Community pools typically contain between 70,000 and 120,000 gallons of water. To ensure the water is clean and safe for swimmers, it gets re-circulated every 4 to 6 hours (meaning the entire volume of water cycles through a filter and is pumped back in), which requires routine maintenance and the constant checking of chemical levels to ensure proper balance.