|  | Public Health Safety | Outdoor Safety

The Effects of Weather on Water Parks

Water parks exist predominantly in outdoor facilities, leaving them open to the public only during late spring and summer months. The attractions in these parks such as rides, slides, pools, fountains and flumes are all subject to year-round weather conditions including wind, rain, harsh sunlight and natural disasters. All of these elements can have adverse effects on water-park attractions.

  1. Sunlight

    • Many water-park slides and other components are made of plastic or heavy-duty vinyl. Because of prolonged exposure to sunlight, these attractions can crack or dry rot. This can cause wearing on slides, thinning of material, or breaks in major components of the attraction. Damage from sunlight can cause the attraction to become hazardous to park visitors and may result in the attraction being removed or closed for repairs, which can be costly to the park on a very popular slide or ride.

    Cold Weather

    • Because water parks exist primarily outdoors and employ the use of a lot of water that park guests and animals may come into contact with, cold weather may cause some water-park attractions or rides to be closed down. A sudden drop in temperature can make the water in water parks unsafe for both park visitors and animals that perform at the park. Very often, even when the temperature heats up later in the day, these attractions will remain closed as a safety precaution.

    Wind

    • Water-park attractions that are subject to prolonged exposure to or gusts of high wind may suffer damage because of the relatively light weight of most of the materials used to create attractions and the way that they are anchored. High winds can shake loose attraction components causing breakage or cracks. Areas of the attraction or ride that may already be damaged or weak could suffer more extensive damage. Wind damage can also be greater during the off season when the park is closed and many attractions do not have the additional weight of constantly running water to help anchor them.

    Natural Disasters

    • Natural disasters including floods, tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes can cause damage to water parks. Floods can cause attractions such as pools to overflow or become contaminated. Earthquakes can cause structural damage to attractions, while tornadoes and hurricanes can cause both structural and flooding damage to water-park attractions. The high winds associated with these storms can cause breakages to ride components, while the heavy rain can cause flooding from rain water, contaminating or overflowing areas such as pools, lazy rivers and the pools at the ends of slides.

Outdoor Safety - Related Articles