The District of Saanich has cleared the splash pad at Beckwith Park of possible environmental concerns and will resume the splash pad’s normal operating hours for the rest of the season.
The splash pad was fully reopened on Saturday and will operate from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. until mid-September.
On Friday, Saanich said that recent testing of the discharge water found no evidence that the splash pad operation in the North Quadra neighbourhood park is causing harm to aquatic life.
The splash pad may even be providing the benefit of an increase flow of cool water during droughts, it said.
Water from the splash pad discharges into the storm drain system that leads to the watershed and Colquitz Creek.
The issue was discovered last month and the splash pad has been largely closed since July 20.
Saanich said that district staff installed new nozzles at the Rutledge Park splash pad to “improve the user experience.”
An investigation into the Rutledge splash pad, which was also temporarily closed for similar concerns, has determined that the splash pad cannot be operated during rain due to water discharge volume concerns.
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