During the long summer days, many families look for ways to save expenses and find fun activities for their children. One option is to go to the Harrisville Splash Pad at the Harrisville Park. However, the splash pad has been in and out of function throughout the summer, which is leaving families feeling frustrated and wondering why.
I reached out to the Parks and Recreation Director of Harrisville City, Bryan Fife, who informed me of the ongoing problems regarding the splash pad.
Fife says, “The splash pad regularly experiences issues that render the pad inoperable for short to extended periods of time. Most often these issues include component failures such as pumps, feeders, sensors, valves, timers, clocks, relays, activation sensors and calibration instruments.”
According to Fife, “The repair may be prolonged due to problem diagnosis, ordering and receiving a replacement part/and or scheduling the installation of replacement parts.”
Fife also says the parts they replace on a regular basis are very costly and, similarly of the suppliers, Harrisville City does not hold these parts on hand and must order them. Closures may also include weather and vandalism related issues (which are currently happening with the Harrisville Park restrooms).
Sadly, vandalism within the public restrooms and the fact that it is increasing over the last few years is affecting everyone who comes to enjoy the splash pad. Additionally, Harrisville City is finding that dealing with the effects of unsupervised children who are causing damage in the public facilities, including restrooms, has become a frustration and a challenge to handle as part of Harrisville City staff’s daily schedule.
During the splash pad hours, the Weber/Morgan Health Department requires adequate and clean restrooms to be in operation and available to the public. If the splash pad restrooms are closed for any reason , the splash pad itself must also be closed.
Furthermore, the splash pad uses 18,000 gallons of culinary water that is then pumped to the features which drains back into a holding tank. Then, it is filtered and treated before its recirculated back into the feature pump system. However, because there are only 18,000 gallons running in and out of the system, this means the water chemistry error is fairly small, making it difficult for repairs and adjustments to be made in a quick/timely manner.
Fife also says, “The equipment failures previously mentioned are used to provide constant water chemistry monitoring which send and receive information to the computer system telling it to add chlorine/acid and fresh water when necessary.”
Fife wanted to emphasize that, “Harrisville City’s Parks, Recreation, and Community Events staff are fully competent, well trained individuals who work diligently to keep the splash pad operating safely and efficiently on a daily basis. If the splash pad is closed during the regular season, there will be a “SPLASH PAD CLOSED” signs placed in the parking lot as well as on the splash pad itself. If you experience problems and/or issues with the splash pad, please call the phone number on the splash pad sign: 801-782-4100. Staff will be available to help assist in anyway.”
