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During the last month, we have been doing exhaustive research into what it would take to construct a Splash Park at Hespeler Park based on the proposed plan that we had.

The main concern is that there is no Town water supply or drainage at the proposed location. We priced out the cost of running town water there (approximately $240,000) and running a line to the sewer system for drainage (approximately $181,000). Using town water would also incur monthly water bill costs of approximately $8,000 (although this is a very unknown cost and would depend entirely on usage which could fluctuate greatly). One option that we have researched is using well water. The main concerns with well water is that it wouldn’t have the water pressure required to run the system (and we would hate to see the water just trickle out of those really cool features!) and that the hard water would stain and corrode the features. Using a recirculation system could boost the water pressure, filter and treat the well water and eliminate the need for town water. Using a recirculation system (where the water re-circulates through a large tank and gets constantly re-used) means that the water has to be treated (chlorine / uv), and tested regularly. We were advised by one company to drain and refill the tank every day during high-use days due to the amount of bacteria, germs and urine that could be in the water. (It was described like this: “The recirculation tank holds approximately the same amount of water that a hot tub does. If you have 100 kids playing in the Splash Park, that’s like having 100 kids in a hot tub.”) Adding a recirculation system would be an added cost of approximately $100,000, and we still have to find a way to drain it – as mentioned above, hooking up to town sewer will add another $181,000 to the cost. Usually the cost of a project like this is 1/3 components (approx $70,000) and 2/3 installation (approx $140,000) WHEN you have water and drainage available on site. As you can see, we are working with a lot of other variables that at this point in time make this project a lot more challenging and costly.

We want to assure everyone that we are still looking into different options and grants, and are definitely open to suggestions or ideas. If anyone is interested in seeing a breakdown of the prices, correspondence with companies and other towns that we have contacted, and other research we have done on this, please let us know as we would be happy to share it. In the meantime, please take a few minutes to let us know what you would like to see at Hespeler Park. What would entice you to visit the park more often, or make your visits there more enjoyable? We'd love to hear from you!