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Groundwork is taking shape for Beaver Creek’s community splash pad under construction near the city park and ball diamonds.
MC&R Pools, Sioux Falls, was awarded the bid, $175,000, for the project that city leaders hope will be supported by grants and donations.
Company president Lorre Colburn said water features like these are attractive to small communities with budgets that don’t allow municipal swimming pools.
“This is designed for younger children and you don’t have to have a lifeguard like you would for a pool,” he said.
“It’s the next-best thing, and it keeps people in town.”
Beaver Creek’s splash pad work started Monday, June 29, and it should be finished within 45 days, depending on the Canadian toy company, which is making the water features.
He said the company had shut down during coronavirus stay-at-home orders, and this delayed the project start date.
The 42-by-62-foot oval splash pad that includes a surrounding 8-foot-wide observation deck is attached to a wider cement deck connects the water feature to the nearby picnic shelter.
Splash pad pumps, which aren’t much louder than air-conditioning units, activate water spray jets for 10, 15 or 20 minutes at a time with the press of a button, similar to a public hot tub.
The jets operate on a timer that allows their use between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. during the summer months between Memorial Day and Labor Day.