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Guidelines for Splash Pad Planning
Colorado Hardscapes has expanded its water feature capabilities, becoming experts in the installation of splash pads and the decorative concrete decking that often accompany these "dry-deck" fountains. After several installations of dry-deck fountains, CHI has gathered some key points to be considered by anyone wishing to dedicate some space to an interactive feature. Here are just a few:
1. Interactive fountains or splash pads will require extensive chemical treatment to keep the water clean. Check with the local building department and/or Public Health Department in advance to determine their health and safety requirements for this type of feature. Special UV filtration or water quality level monitoring may be required and is costly. Discovering these requirements early on will help set the budget.
2. Mechanical systems for splash pads consume considerable space. Planning for a mechanical room in an adjacent building basement is the ideal solution in a retail environment. However, in parks or other large plazas there may be no place to put the mechanical system except in a direct burial vault. By determining in advance where the mechanical system should go, the vault openings can be incorporated into the landscape design and cleverly disguised.
3. Storage for large volumes of water (2,000 to 4,000 gallons) is a requirement for splashpads. A water storage vault or tank will also need to be buried or built into a nearby building to hold enough water to achieve adequate turnover and chemical treatment of the water recirculating into the feature. (In some municipalities fresh water is used for all sprays and therefore, no storage is required.)
4. Consider the play surface design and function. If the splash pad is concrete, an exposed surface like Colorado Hardscapes' Sandscape Texture™ is a perfect finish because it won't scratch little feet, but is not slippery when wet. Sandscape is durable and, when integrally colored, will not fade. Incorporating sawcut patterns and a wide palette of stain colors, designers can get very creative with a decorative concrete surface creating rivers, animals, or other symbols right in the splash pad deck.
5. Establish a budget for the splash pad based on the mechanical system that will be required to operate it, not just the number of jets or play features. Much of what makes a splash pad run well (clean water, appropriate pressure, no clogged nozzles, good drainage etc.) is not readily visible, but generally comprises well over 50% of the cost of an interactive fountain. By knowing what amount can be allocated to the splash pad, a fountain designer will be able develop a design which will fit within the budget, saving lots of time on value engineering re-design.
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