(Images: CHS)
Happy Seattle summer. If the city’s sometimes silver skies of summer don’t quite have you in the mood, know this. The wading pool schedule goes on without you. You had might as well catch up. This weekend, Volunteer Park’s wade pool — and overhauled pathways, benches, tables and playground — makes its 2013 debut. The “rules” for Seattle’s pool openings are excellent preparation for the disappointments of adulthood for the city’s children. The parks department-run facilities are only open “on sunny days when the temperature is forecast to be 70 degrees or above.” In other words — in Seattle, you never know. Better call the city’s “wading pool hotline” to make sure: (206) 684-7796. Like we said, happy summer.
Capitol Hill wading pools and spray parks
- Volunteer Park wading pool 6/22 to 9/2, 11a-8p, Daily
- Cal Anderson Park wading pool 6/28 to 8/18, 12p-6:45p Friday, Saturday, Sunday
- Miller Community Center spray park 5/25 to 9/2, 11a-8p, Daily
As an element of the City’s water conservation effort, we’re encouraging people to use public wading pools rather than fill their home “kiddy pools” or run backyard sprinklers. In accordance with state law, we fill, chlorinate, supervise, and empty each wading pool every day, which requires a substantial amount of water. With a bit of analysis, we learned that filling home wading pools uses more water than a public community wading pool. For example, if 50 families used the East Queen Anne wading pool at 160 Howe St., rather than filling their home wading pools, the water saved would equal that needed to fill the public wading pool, which would serve a lot more than 50 kids! We will plan to open the wading pools on sunny days when the temperature is forecast to be 70 degrees or above. On most days we will fill them half full, which is a 50% water savings…..but on the busiest days they will be filled to the top!
Meanwhile, if you’d like to dive all the way in and go for a swim in a public pool, there are a few options for “open swim” not too far from the Hill.
Note that the Ron K. Bills “spray park” at Miller Community Center recycles its water. A huge water storage tank is buried under the sloping lawn between the fountain and the car park. Water is filtered and sterilized with bromine in the pump house (between fountain and soccer field) before being pumped out of the fountain’s many jets.
See it all in this album documenting the fountain’s construction: http://tinyurl.com/kekpk2r
or see it all in the 40′ video:
[…] Meanwhile, for the little ones, Cal Anderson’s wade pool isn’t open on Mondays but Volunteer Park’s pool and Miller Community Center’s water play area are ready to serve you. […]