![\"YMCA](\"https:\/\/www.thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Splash-pad-groundbreaking-3-31-15.jpg\")
<\/a>Ground was broken on the project, which should be ready for the park\u2019s opening on Memorial Day weekend, on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been working to make the park more attractive for families with younger kids,\u201d Myers said, noting that he was driving in Rockford a couple of years ago when he saw the splash pad located in that community\u2019s Shane\u2019s Park.<\/p>\n
That was what gave Myers the idea, the concept, of having something similar at Camp Clay. \u201cI said \u2018That\u2019s what we need, we need something like that, where it doesn\u2019t matter what age you are, or whether you\u2019re in a wheelchair,\u201d he explained, adding that, while he sees people of all ages using the new splash pad, he envisions it being used primarily by relatively young children. \u201cIt puts in the last niche for what to do with younger kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
Myers said the current water park equipment, including the zipline and bounce pad, are more for older youths and adults, and added that he had gotten requests from a number of people wanting something for younger children to do.<\/p>\n
The project started approximately two years ago, with the beginning of the permit process.<\/p>\n
\u201cUsually that\u2019s the biggest hurdle you have to get through, just making sure you can get the proper permitting,\u201d said John Foraker, owner of My Splash Pad, the company installing the new splash pad.<\/p>\n
The new splash pad will feature approximately 40 water sprays of varying intensity over a 36,000-square-foot area — three times as big as the Shane Park splash pad — as well as an umbrella that provides a shower-like spray. Like a swimming pool that has shallow and deep ends, Myers said the sprays would be adjusted to provide water pressure appropriate for younger children in one area, while older children and adults will have also have an area with more intense sprays.<\/p>\n
Foraker said the water, which would be re-circulated from Lake Rotary, would be aerated and run through an ultraviolet light to kill e coli<\/i> and any other bacteria found in the lake, noting that the process would also make the lake\u2019s water cleaner and healthier than it currently is.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have great water quality already, but it\u2019s going to make it that much better,\u201d Myers said. \u201cA lot of people have already commented on how blue and clear the water is.\u201d<\/p>\n Myers said the splash pad would re-circulate approximately 220 gallons of water a minute, from the lake to the splash pad and back again.<\/p>\n Foraker said the splash pad installation should be pretty much complete in about a week, but the Fiberglas materials would then have to cure for approximately 30 days before the splash pad could be used. There will also be some anti-slip safety surfacing installed around and in the splash pad area.<\/p>\n Foraker said using reinforced Fiberglas, which has a lot of advantages over stainless steel.<\/p>\n \u201cWe did a lot of research when we went into this,\u201d Foraker said of his decision to use Fiberglas over metal.<\/p>\n<\/a>