With the mercury level climbing higher as summer approaches, many Cochrane families are seeking ways to stay cool while entertaining their little ones.
A quick online search reveals there are more than 70 spray parks within the province of Alberta — several in bigger centres such as Calgary and Edmonton, but many smaller communities boast such an outdoor water park for its residents and weekend campers.
With 23 per cent growth between 2013-15, Cochrane social media platforms are rarely short of busy parents begging for more child-centered amenities.
The question often arises: is Cochrane getting a spray park and where?
Sunset Ridge developer Melcor has included proposed plans for a spray park in one of their future phases (currently the developer is in Phase 19; the proposed park would be further north in the community, part of Phase 23).
According to Catharina Mendonca, marketing manager for Melcor, this would be several years away and has yet to be approved.
With respect to a central Cochrane location, according to Suzanne Gaida, senior manager of community services for the town, the goal through the Rock the Waves fundraising drive — for Cochrane’s $45M pool/curling club centre slated to open in 2017 — is to have enough funds in place to open a spray park adjacent to the new facility (being built next to the Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre at the end of Griffin Road).
“Our focus is on the year-round facility (pool/aquatic centre) first,” said Gaida, adding that included in the $45M budget for the multi-use facility is $150,000 for the mechanical piece (pumps) for a spray park.
What is not included so far is the equipment portion; this would roughly equate to $350,000.
Gaida said that future fundraising would likely look to the community for support and there would be opportunities for people to take a grassroots lead on fundraising.
She added that nothing is ‘set in stone’ and the hope is still to open a spray park the same season as the indoor facility, but time and talks with major sponsors would reveal the exact timing of this; current fundraising for the facility is approaching the halfway mark ($4.4M of the $10.6M) and Gaida said ‘everything is right on target’.
All water parks in Alberta, as per Alberta Health Services regulations, must be treated and re-circulated (like pool water) or dumped directly into the sewer system.
Gaida said the town, with water conservation in mind, would likely re-circulate and treat the water, utilizing the system for the pool water that will be in place.
