Leisure River to Open at Splash Island
Splash Island will introduce a new attraction, Leisure River, at the grand opening on Saturday, May 26. The ‘lazy river'-type feature is a 900-foot long channel of water that will float patrons on inner tubes along a winding path through coconut tip buckets, rock waterfalls, and other ways to cool off. There's even a water basketball court in the middle of the attraction.

“In the past, whenever we've asked people what other kind of attraction they'd like to see at Splash Island, this is the one they have mentioned the most,” said Clay Chafin, Director of Parks and Recreation for the Town of Plainfield. “We're excited for everyone to have a chance to experience it. It's a great family ride. Everyone from kids to older adults will enjoy the floating adventure.”

“We think this is also a good story about economic development and keeping fresh the excitement surrounding Splash Island,” said Robin Brandgard, Town Council President. “The Town is making a $3.5 million investment. Every year, more and more people come to the water park. This gives our town residents and visitors even more reasons to visit. Plus, it expands the capacity of Splash Island.”

Gaining capacity is important for the outdoor water park. “We reached capacity 16 times last year,” said Nate Thorne, Deputy Director of Parks and Recreation, who handles the business side of the park. “With the addition of the Leisure River attraction, we'll be able to accommodate 2200 patrons as opposed to the 1500 we had in 2011. That should alleviate lines of people having to wait for others to leave. It was for their own safety we couldn't let them in, but we know that on hot days, people just want to cool off and have fun. We should be able to do that now without lines.”

A new building with two family changing rooms has also been built to support the additional capacity of the park.

No changes were made to the original park with the addition of the river. The new attraction has been built on the east side where a parking lot used to be. To supplement the lost parking spaces, a lot was added on the north side of Splash Island last year.

Grand opening activities will include a visit from Radio Disney on Saturday. Later in the week someone will win a “family reunion” prize package at Splash Island, courtesy of HANK-FM and the Plainfield Recreation and Aquatics Center. Listen to the stations for more information, and visit our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter, and view us on YouTube for other chances to win prizes all summer long.

Crews Working to Fix Drainage in South Hills, Hadley Acres

Construction crews have set up working space at the place where Rachael Drive and Ramsey Lane meet as they prepare to finish the second phase of the South Hills Estates drainage pond project.

The overall project was devised to fix the poor drainage that has for a long time plagued the South Hills Estates subdivision along Reeves Road. The Hadley Acres subdivision immediately to the south of it also suffers negative impact from poor drainage. The solution to the problem has been to extend storm sewers into the existing neighborhoods on Rachael Drive, Ramsey Lane, and Esther Court, sending the runoff into a drainage pond. The pond is located at the far south end of the Plainfield Baptist Church property on Reeves Road between the church's property line and the Hadley Acres subdivision. The pond not only allows a place for the excess water to flow, but it also aids in cleaning the water. A drain at the east end of the pond allows for the water to flow into the drainage pond on the high school property, helping to remove even more impurities.

“A lot of people don't realize that the Town has taken a pro-active stance to meet the directive mandated by the federal government to both clean storm water and reduce combined sewer overflow,” said Town Engineer Tim Belcher. “In May, 2007 the town entered into an agreed order which requires reduction and/or elimination of combined sewer overflows within fifteen years. By aggressively planning and implementing key storm water and sewer separation projects, the Town has made significant progress. Of the five combined overflow points that were active in 2007, only two remain.

Belcher added that the project should be complete by the July.