Photo Credit: Courtesy of Justin Casperson
To flow-through or not to flow-through? That was the question two years ago when city officials in West Bend, Wis., were designing a new splash pad. Because of the uniqueness of Regner Park--the city’s oldest community park--a decision was made to push the envelope on innovation, and create a flow-through system that would use water a second time for a swimming pond.
A Unique Opportunity
Regner Park’s features originated during the 1930s when projects were iniated by the the Federal Emergency Relief Administration and Work Projects Administration. As with any park constructed during that time, it had great facilities that needed some updating, including the 1.75-acre swim pond andwith the classic “Citizens Conservation Corp” lannon-stone and dark-stained wood bathhouse and bandstand.
Since 1935, a well has been supplying fresh swim water to the pond through a waterfall, which swimmers also have enjoyed. In the mid-1980s, a second well was added to prevent the department from draining its entire aquatic budget on paying for city water to keep the swimmers afloat.
