2017 spring flooding continues to have a ripple effect on this summer's fun.
The spray park at City Park won't be opening until next year. “The mechanical systems were more or less under water for a number of months,” according to City of Kelowna Risk Manager, Lance Kayfish. “We’re going to have to rip everything out and completely replace the entire mechanical systems, the filtration systems, the ultra-violet treatment systems, that keep the water free from pathogens, and help keep the public safe.”
That assessment was only possible after flood waters finally left the underground mechanical room in October. Repairs couldn’t immediately be started because of the complexities of the custom built mechanical room. Kayfish told The Early Edition with Phil Johnson, “Developing exactly what would be the scope of repair involved electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, mechanical contractors, restoration contractors. A pretty detailed process, also ensuring we understood what was damaged and what needed to be replaced so that we could also demonstrate that to the insurance company.”
Kayfish said insurance will cover most of the $400,000 needed to get the spray park back up and running. The City is also considering some design changes to avoid future costly damages and delays. “In fact, we did have water back into the mechanical systems and that room in May. Fortunately, it wasn’t to the extent that it was last year and it didn’t really cause any damage, but certainly, if we did have another year like we did in 2017 the same thing could happen again. Hopefully the new design will consider that and will mitigate that risk so we don’t have to deal with this again,” explained Kayfish.
The City hopes to have the spray park fully operational in Spring of 2019. In the meantime, Ben Lee Water Park, Quilchena Splash Park and West Kelowna Spray Park are all operational this summer.