[StBernard] St. Bernard State Park opens Splash Pad water playground

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard State Park opens Splash Pad water playground

Looking for something to do with the kids, stay cool, and stay close to
home? St. Bernard Parish State Park has opened a new Splash Pad. Admission
is free, and it is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the park,
501 St. Bernard Parkway in Braithwaite.

"There is no cost to get in the park or to use the splash pad," Tony Hall,
park manager said. "We are the only state park in Louisiana that does not
charge any admission for day use."

Hall said the person who donated the property for the park made it a part of
the donation that no day use be charged. "However, we do have fees for
camping and reserving our picnic pavilion," he said.

The Splash Pad will be opened through October, but the hours will change in
the early fall to adjust to daylight hours.

So what is Splash Pad? It's a water playground.

Kaydin Brown, 4, of St. Bernard, said, "It is so watery and cool. I really
like it." It features dumping water buckets, spraying arches, water cannons,
and ground sprays.

Hall said there are 12 different programs working the different features at
varying times. "It goes through each program for 30 seconds and after the
12th it shuts off," he said.

This feature saves water and energy, if no one is on the pad. A button is
pressed to start the program over again.

Krystina Brown, St. Bernard resident, and her children were among the
families who recently visited the water playground.

"My kids really enjoyed playing there and interacting with the other kids,"
Brown said. "They loved running across the spots where the water shoots out
of the ground."

Brown said she enjoyed the pad, too, because she could stay in the shade
while watching her kids play. She said she also is glad she doesn't have to
worry about the danger of drowning, since all of the water runs off the pad.

Hall said the Splash Pad is an improvement from the pool in many ways, one
of which is cost. "The pool cost $2 per person, where the splash pad has no
entrance fees."

The Splash Pad can also be opened for a longer season, at least six months
out of the year. The pool only operated from May until mid-August.

"This Splash Pad is unique as there is no recirculation of the water,"Hall
said. "We use treated water from St. Bernard Parish, which just drains off.
This saves considerable amount of money for the equipment necessary to
recirculate and treat the reclaimed water."

He realizes while some people are unhappy about the elimination of the pool,
the Splash Pad has more benefits to both the patrons and the park.

"The pool was 30 years old and was in great need of repairs,"he said.

Another splash pad visitor, Alexis Herold, said, "The Splash Pad is a great
addition to St. Bernard. It gives families a nice escape from the summer
heat, with plenty of space, and covered areas with tables. The best part is
I can interact with Bohdi, my son, without getting soaking wet."

 For more information or to reserve a pavilion, call 504.682.2101.