Photo Credit: © Can Stock Photo Inc. / STAVRIDA
Splash pads are not really new. My first encounter with one was in 1989 with an early “in-house custom” model that had been installed at a park in the 1970s. It was essentially a set of holes in a galvanized potable-water supply pipe that was erected 9 feet over a concrete pad; the pad was piped to drain into a creek at the back of the property. It worked, but it lacked novelty; the concrete slab sustained algae and moss, and every year, a section of pipe or the gate-valve needed replacing. It was eventually removed since it no longer met the wastewater-management code.
Modern splash pads and spray grounds have come a long way. Besides interactive designs and individualized layouts that create unique travel circuits, many are installed with a recirculation system that filters the water and provides a sanitizer, and in many cases, a UV-treatment phase. Although the modern system is considered better in most instances, it also requires a higher level of technical ability to troubleshoot and maintain to meet the health codes that apply to these features.
The town of Trophy Club’s parks and recreation department in Texas installed a new splash pool in 2010. While a spray ground, splash pad, and splash pool all use the same elements to eject or spray water, a splash pool exists where there is any depth of standing water. This also creates the need for lifeguards and a few other mandates that come with operating a pool. On the flip side, however, splash pools create opportunities for slides into low water, which are not typically possible with spray grounds and splash pads.