Area water park to open Memorial Day

After an eight-year drought in the Las Vegas Valley, water parks are making a comeback.

Splash Canyon Waterpark is scheduled to open Memorial Day in the southwest part of the valley near the Las Vegas Beltway and Sunset Road.

The first phase of the park includes a 25-acre project with 20 slides, a wave pool, a 1,000-foot lazy river, a play structure, a toddler pool and more.

A second phase in the plans would expand the park to 40 acres and likely include more thrill rides, park officials said.

It will provide the kind of fun that resident and father Andy Banz has been looking for.

Banz said his kids usually stay indoors and play video games during the summer months.

"It's Vegas," he said. "There aren't that many things to do with children."

Banz grew up in Los Angeles and spent his summers at Raging Waters. He remembers it fondly and is excited that his 4-, 5- and 6-year-old daughters will have that option locally.

The $18 million project is a public-private partnership among Clark County, The Howard Hughes Corp., SPB Partners and Dallas-based Harvest Family Entertainment.

Local investors and brothers Roger and Scott Bulloch are third-generation Las Vegans who also fondly remember the summers they spent at the local water park, 27-acre Wet 'n Wild, which operated from 1985 to 2004.

"Wet 'n Wild was the source of community for youth," Scott Bulloch said. "That's just where we went. Since the closure of Wet 'n Wild and some of the other family amenities, this has desperately been lacking in the community."

Scott and Roger Bulloch were two of 11 kids in their family. Scott Bulloch has five children, and Roger Bulloch has four. Their park is going to be a place they feel comfortable bringing their progeny.

"We're not going to sell alcohol," Scott Bulloch said. "If you're a 25-year-old that's single and wants to party, they're going to be better off on Las Vegas Boulevard. This is for kids. This is for moms."

Bulloch said the downswing in the economy does not worry them and that attendance at movie theaters, amusement parks and water parks has increased in the past few years.

Roger Bulloch said he expects 99 percent of patrons to be locals, and he hopes that local community groups and festivals will take advantage of the park's nonaquatic amenities year-round.

The park is expected to create about 200 construction jobs and up to 500 youth jobs for seasonal employees.

However, a project that is expected to use about 9 million gallons of water annually is naturally going to raise concerns from locals.

The park will use an on-site filtration system and return most of its water to Lake Mead at the end of every season.

J.C. Davis, spokesman for the Southern Nevada Water Authority and Las Vegas Valley Water District, described the park's impact on the valley's water supply as "tiny" and "minuscule."

"Once that park is full, it actually uses very, very little water," Davis said.

The only water that is going to be wasted will be from evaporation, "but that's not going to be a big number," Davis added.

Davis emphasized that the water in the park, just like all water used in homes, restaurants and hotels, is recovered, filtered and reused.

That 9 million gallons of water for annual refilling is about the same amount used by 25 residential properties, Davis said. About two-thirds of a home's water is used for irrigation, which is consumptive and cannot be reclaimed, he added.

"We think when you live in an environment like this, swimming pools and slides are a reasonable use for water. We think it's a really efficient way to use water. It's more of a perception issue than a reality issue," he said.

A separate water park is being planned in the Henderson area near Galleria Drive and Gibson Road and is expected to open next year.

The Splash Canyon Waterpark will be open through Labor Day. Regular-season passes will cost $139 per person. Daily admission will range from $22 for kids to $30 for adults. For more information, visit splashlv.com.

Contact View education reporter Jeff Mosier at jmosier@viewnews.com or 224-5524.