The Village of Port Edwards sits on the southwestern edge of Wisconsin Rapids with a population of approximately 1,800. Since 1948, residents and visitors have gathered at the Olympic-sized outdoor municipal pool located at Edwards-Alexander Memorial Park. In 2014, however, the community pool closed – pressing “pause” on a 66-year legacy of poolside recreation in the village.

Many locals rallied to save their beloved community centerpiece, but when village officials and the Village Parks Committee began an investigation into replacement costs, the reality was that a replacement pool was simply cost prohibitive – both to construct as well as to maintain. However, a different solution surfaced – one that many other municipalities have been choosing as their new beloved, all-accessible, aquatic play spaces: a splash pad.

A recreational legacy

As luck would have it, the Legacy Foundation approached Port Edwards in 2017 with a generous $500,000 grant opportunity to construct the new splash pad and all of its associated infrastructure. A plan was set into motion and soon the Village was planning for just that – a new 2,500-square-foot splash pad to be located within the same park as the old pool. Residents and guests of this central Wisconsin community would soon be able to press “play” on a new era of water-based recreation, right in the place where it all began.

MSA led the overall park design, site, civil and utility engineering of the project, with splash pad-specific design by Vortex Aquatic Structures International, Inc. and Commercial Recreation Specialists – based in Verona. The splash pad is expected to cost the community approximately $4,000 annually, plus a few other associated maintenance and operating expenses.

The aquatics component has a variety of engaging features including a water power spinner, directional jets, butterfly-themed spray, foot-activators, jet streams and a “spidey spray.” In addition, the broader project at Edwards-Alexander Memorial Park incorporates a new shade structure, the addition of drinking fountains, bike racks, benches, splash pad utilities, new landscaping and a new ADA-compliant crosswalk and curb ramp leading into the park.

Residents and officials in Port Edwards gathered in for a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony on August 10, 2019, and look forward to many seasons to come in this refreshed, revitalized community park.