MORE THAN
MEETS THE EYE
T
hink a splashpad functions like a
simple sprinkler, shooting water in
different directions when on and
stopping after being turned off? Wrong!
A carefully calculated series of events
take place behind the scenes.
Water sequences are programmed, and
interactive features are hydraulically tied
together. If one child stops the pressure
on a feature by covering the spray nozzle
with his or her foot, it influences the
pressure on a feature another youngster
is playing with.
Splashpad features are not all on at the
same time either. “We try and sequence
them around the pad so that it’s always
a guessing game as to where the water’s
coming from next,” Blake Theisen
explained. “Splashpads run in variable
time sequences, depending on how we
program them, so once a kid activates it,
it will start up, and the water flows. It will
cycle through all of our features on the
pad for six or 10 minutes.”
Theisen programs in four or f ive
sequences “in the brain of the system,”
and “once a kids learns that, ‘OK, the
water goes from A to B to C to D,’
sequence two starts, and it may either
reverse it, or it may go A to C to E to B to
D. We try to break the monotony of the
same sequence every time.”
Splashpads are also designed to partition
off areas by age group, often a section for
toddlers, another for kids 5 to 8, and a
third for those ages 9 and older.
“Little kids don’t want 20 gallons of water
pounding them on the head, but that’s
what someone who’s 10, 11, 12 wants
to do. They want to have the big soak,”
Theisen said.
– Jennifer Schmidt
4│TRENDS
POPULARITY
PICKING UP
The Blue Mound State Park
splashpad is one of 18 Theisen and
MacDonald have designed in the
last nine years. Splashpads, also
referred to as aquatic playgrounds,
spray parks, and splash parks, have
skyrocketed in popularity since
the mid-2000s, according to both
Theisen and MacDonald. They’ve
found that many municipal pools
were reaching or exceeding their
life expectancy, leaving clients
debating whether to invest millions
of dollars to rebuild their pool or
spend a fraction of the cost and
install an interactive water feature,
which typically has far fewer
needs for long-term maintenance,
upkeep, and staffing.
“They are reasonably affordable
for a community to construct
and to maintain. There aren’t as
many liability issues associated
with them as there sometimes
can be for pools. They do not
require lifeguards, which can be a
cost savings for communities, and
they fit into almost any kind of
landscape,” MacDonald said. “Pool
facilities just take a lot more of
everything, whereas a splashpad
can fit into almost any location in a
community.”
CONSIDERATIONS
MADE
When designing splashpads,
Theisen and MacDonald consider a
host of factors, including parking,
ADA standards, shade, location,
and proximity to restrooms.
“All of that comes into play. If this
is going into a pre-existing site, we
will definitely make sure that there
is ample parking and that it’s very
close to restroom facilities, and
potential changing rooms need to
be within a couple hundred feet of
the splashpad,” MacDonald said.
Different regulations are
associated with different types of
splashpads. In a “flow-through”
system, water is pumped into the
splashpad and either drained into
the community’s storm system
as wastewater or repurposed for
irrigation. A “recirculating system”
involves filtering and disinfecting
water before its redistributed back
into the splashpad features. This
type of system is regarded as a
pool by the state – thus bringing
more regulations.
The City of Fitchburg, Wisconsin,
opted for a recirculating system
when it worked with Theisen and
MacDonald to design its McKee Farms
splashpad.
The Janesville splashpad, located
along the Rock River in Riverside
Park, also brought its own challenges,
including being almost entirely within
a floodplain and having no municipal
water nearby. Before the splashpad’s
construction, the site featured an old,
failing wading pool. The City knew
it wanted to remove the structure
but struggled with what to do in its
place – rehabilitate the pool or install
a splashpad. A feasibility study and
cost comparison helped answer the
question.
“Instead of just dumping the water,
we wanted it recirculated for
environmental reasons,” said Paul
Woodard, Fitchburg’s former director
of public works and city engineer,
acknowledging the various code
regulations that came with it, such
as fencing and water treatment,
which he said Theisen helped the City
navigate.
Previous attempts to put in a pool
had fallen through because of initial
and ongoing operational costs. The
local Optimist Club ultimately assisted
the City in raising money for the
splashpad’s equipment and features,
with the City providing the land and
accompanying infrastructure.
The McKee Farms splashpad, which
pays tribute to the former farmstead
it was built on, has been extremely
popular with parkgoers. Bordered by
an old split row fence and accented
by fruit tree orchard landscaping, its
spray features include crop rows, a
John Deere tractor, a chicken yard,
and more – with even the restroom
and mechanical building designed as
a large red barn with white shutters
and trim.
So pleased with the end result,
Woodard, now public works director
for the City of Janesville, Wisconsin,
hired Ayres Associates again for a
splashpad project there.
“I liked what (Theisen) had done with
the Fitchburg project,” Woodard said.
“The plans that were put together
were very well done, and I thought he
was good in working with the public
on the design options.”
The Janesville splashpad was
designed to honor the Ice Age Trail
and geological glacier movements it’s
positioned across. Spray features are
shaped like flowers, colored concrete
provides a path symbolizing the
Ice Age Trail, and custom boulders
replicate the glacial repositioning of
rocks.
Woodard said the splashpads
have been well-received in both
communities.
“They were very well done, they’re
very well used, and people seem to
enjoy them very much,” he said. “We
were very pleased.”
TRENDS
│5