The infrastructure that provides water for the spray plaza along Monon Boulevard will soon be reworked, although its features and appearance will not change.
The Carmel City Council on July 17 approved spending $55,500 to begin the process of converting a system that cleans and recirculates the spray plaza’s water to a single-use system.
“It’s our preference within the parks system to do an uncirculated system, simply because it requires a lot less labor hours in this particular case,” CCPR Director Michael Klitzing told the council. “All of the equipment is within a confined space, which means that we have to have at least two staff to be able to service the location, and chemical-related expenses are greater than just using the water once.”
The $55,500 will allow CCPR to redesign the system and prepare construction documents before taking it out to bid. CCPR has that amount available in unused funds from a recent utility relocation associated with a culvert project along the Monon Greenway north of 116th Street.
The total cost estimate for the spray plaza redesign will not be known until design work is completed, but CCPR plans to fund the remainder through its 2024 budget.
Klitzing said parks staff must access the underground equipment, which is adjacent to the busy trail, at least once per day. Because of the chemicals involved the employees must wear a hazmat suit when they enter the confined space, which Klitzing said can cause “some degree of concern” for members of the public passing by.
Klitzing said CCPR, which is responsible for maintaining the spray plaza, was not consulted during initial design of the water feature.
“The design team used by the city was well-experienced in creating splashpads and the systems used are fairly common. The challenge comes with all of the mechanical components needing to be underground, requiring two employees to perform routine service since it is located within a confined space. By comparison, we need only one technician to service our other splashpads throughout the park system,” Klitzing stated in an email to Current. “Operationally, CCPR tends to prefer non-recirculating systems when feasible, as they tend to be easier and less costly to maintain, but we also understand the logic considered by the city and designers when originally selecting a recirculating system for Monon Boulevard.”
The council approved the ordinance reallocating $55,500 for the spray plaza on first reading. The project is expected to be bid in the winter, with construction occurring in the spring of 2024, so the spray plaza is available for use in the summer.
