The Hotel & Leisure Advisors report noted that between 65 to 75 percent of the water use at a resort with an indoor waterpark is through the lodging and restaurant portions of the business with guests using showers and toilets leading the way. That process consumed 2 million gallons of water a year or 50 times the newer filtering system according to data collected by SPB Partners, developers of the Splash Canyon Waterpark. By contrast a shuttered Las Vegas waterpark known as Wet ‘n Wild used a cheaper system that employed sand for filtration. Between 97 and 98 percent of the water is reused every day.Īmong the reasons for water loss, maintenance related to the cleaning of water system filters is the biggest user of water.Īt the Splash Canyon Waterpark in Las Vegas, a $520,000 high tech filtering system consumes about 40,000 gallons of water a year or the equivalent annual water use of 3.5 households in that southern Nevada city. The study notes water loss at a waterpark is by way of splash out, evaporation, deck wash down, and backwash loss.Īn estimated 2 to 3 percent of daily water use at an indoor water park is lost primarily through maintenance and “topping off” the water features. A 125-acre “skilled sport” water attraction in Mesa, Arizona that includes a whitewater river for kayaking, scuba lagoon, snorkeling pond, and an artificial beach with 12-foot waves in addition to standard attractions will require 50 million gallons to fill it up initially. It notes the biggest water use is when a waterpark is initially filled. McLaughlin noted that means considerably less water is used to clean a vehicle than if it was washed in a driveway using a garden hose.Ī report conducted by Hotel & Leisure Advisors – a national hospitality consulting firm - notes 43 proposed indoor water parks are being pursued in 11 drought stricken states The newest ones such as Clear Drop that just opened at Yosemite and Cottage avenues in Manteca employ high tech recovery systems that recycle more than 97 percent of the water used. “Surprisingly water parks (built today) use significantly less water than you think they would,” McLaughlin noted. McLaughlin said she had a chance to get a peek at the system Great Wolf uses when she toured a resort in Grand Mound in the State of Washington last year. That is in addition to increased ongoing operational and maintenance costs.Īt the same time McLaughlin noted McWhinney Development - the Colorado-based firm that could invest $139 million to build the resort under consideration on 30 acres of city-owned land west of Costco - has indicated they plan to share cutting edge water conservation strategies with the city in the coming months. It doubled the upfront cost to roughly $500,000 for the play feature that was planned. Newer state standards put in place required such water play features to recycle water. It is the reason why Manteca opted to put plans for a water play feature at Woodward Park on hold shortly after completing the Library Park feature. Not only does the recovery system add cost to the construction but it also requires ongoing hands-on maintenance and testing to meet health code standards. “The city opted not to go with a water feature with recycled water due to the cost,” McLaughlin said. Instead every drop either goes into the wastewater system or evaporates. Unlike water play features in Lathrop and other cities, the Library Park one does not recycle water. City Manager Karen McLaughlin Tuesday defended the decision.
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