Splash pad at Centennial Park to open this summer Published June 25, 2009 By Lee Anne Hensley Hilltop Times staff HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah -- The 75th Civil Engineering Group recently announced a new, free splash pad will be opening for Hill Air Force Base families at Centennial Park sometime around the first week of July. The splash pad water play area will be similar to the splash pad on Liberty Drive in the housing area, but the Centennial Park splash pad will be bigger, at about 60 feet by 70 feet, and will have several more water features, nine in total. Those water features will include a water spout, water bars which shower cool, sanitized water down on young patrons, a water arch bar which provides a similar function and a water bucket cluster which randomly tips buckets of water suspended overhead onto children standing below. All features will be painted in bright primary colors to add visual interest. Unseen water features will include an upward spray ring, an arch jet manifold, a water jewel fountain, and a water column and ground funnel fountain, all of which spray water from spigots built flush to the ground on different areas of the concrete pad. All water features have been provided by Aquatic Recreation Co. based in Minnesota. The water features are activated by an activation bollard, a touch sensor device which will be placed in the perimeter of the water play area with clear designations for patrons showing how to activate the water features. The activation bollard itself is operated through a control panel and only operates during set hours of operation. Another advanced technical feature the splash pad includes is an ultraviolet filter used along with the standard chemical filters to protect users from waterborne infections like cryptosporidiosis, a diarrheal disease the Center for Disease Control reports has been commonly spread through recreational water activities without such protections. According to the project's manager, Dennis Bills of the 75th CEG, the quality of materials used in building the water park area went above average standards. "We used heavy rebar and concrete rated to 4,000 psi strength which will ensure this water park area is long lasting," Bills said. The project manager also noted that the reservoir system used in the splash pad will be water efficient as well. "The reservoir has a 2,400-gallon capacity that re-circulates to produce very little water waste," Bills said. The civil engineering group also praised the location of the new splash pad. "It is being built next to the new playground, pavilions, barbecue grills and sports fields, so this splash pad will be used a lot," Bills added. The project has been carried out by Pacific Pools, a subcontractor to Garrett and Co. The splash pad project was funded by the Commander-In-Chief's Installation Excellence Award monies granted to Hill AFB last year for being one of the top two Air Force installations. Once the monies were awarded, a committee distributed surveys to Team Hill asking how they would like the funds to be spent. "Out of the 101 ideas the committee evaluated, this project went into the top 10 projects we wanted to bring to the base," said Chief Master Sgt. Marc Crandell, 75th Mission Support Group superintendent. "It was a visible centerpiece for Team Hill and it gave back to the largest amount of people on base and to their families." The official opening ceremony is still to be determined, as the contractors, Garrett and Co., need to allow time for the large amount of concrete to cure. A tentative opening date has been projected for the first week of July.