23 May 2017

New site for Aotea Lagoon’s splash pad

Porirua’s new splash pad is to be developed on Aotea Lagoon’s northern No. 1 lawn in time for summer.

The sunny site, alongside a public BBQ and seating area, has been chosen after plans for it to replace the duck pond came in over budget.

“There are no changes to the awesome splash pad design. It will still have the 6m high bucket dumper and other fun features. This move actually makes it easier to develop and means we’ll be able to do it within budget,” says Parks Manager Olivia Dovey.

“This site was always one of the favoured sites. It’s next to a great public space, has plenty of sun, is sheltered and is close to the power, water and infrastructure services we need. And we are still on track to having it open in time for summer.”

The initial plan had been to have the 250m2 splash pad replace the duck pond near the adventure playground and public toilets.

“There have been ongoing issues at the duck pond with smell, water quality and maintenance costs and initially we thought combining the removal of the pond with the new splash pad would be a good solution. However, to get resource consent from Greater Wellington Regional Council is taking some time and adding to costs and complexity so we’ve decided to simply move the site.”
“We are still pursuing resource consent to fill in the duck pond to create more recreational space and we’ll have a wider community conversation about how the space should be used next year,” says Ms Dovey.

The $880,000 splash pad will feature three bays aimed at toddlers, families and teens with the water features working in random patterns to keep the fun flowing. The water will be treated and recirculated.

The toddler bay will include low-level water jellies, misters, sprays and a water bug they can sit underneath, surrounded by a curtain of water.
The family bay will include jets of water in a variety of shapes and sizes, a rainbow series of curved poles that shoot out misty water, and a rainforest that will pour water from three tall leafy structures.
The teen bay will have spray cannons, in-ground water jets and the massive supersplash dumper bucket.

The project also includes 22 extra carparks through an expansion of the northern carpark along Papakowhai Rd.

Construction is expected to be carried out in late winter and spring and take three to four months to complete.

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