A giant tilting potato bucket called Tippin’ Tater that holds 750 gallons of water. A grumpy Aries lifeguard who keeps an eye on everyone. Two baby bears slide down a tree trunk. Blue birds on a diving board.
Camp IdaH2O, the newest expansion of Roaring Springs Waterpark, is a celebration of life in the Pacific Northwest, said Tiffany Quilici, the waterpark’s chief marketing officer.
Meridian is home to the largest water park in the Northwest. And it just turned 25 years old.
Here are six things you need to know about the park:
1. Hundreds of teenagers work there.
Roaring Springs, the largest employer of young adults in the Treasure Valley, has 700 employees. About 200 of these are lifeguards, who rotate from one attraction to another every 20 to 30 minutes. ”That really helps keep them alert and vigilant,” Quilici said.
Lifeguards show up around 9:30 am and test each attraction to ensure they are all safe for visitors to proceed.
Only 10 employees work full-time all year round.
Quilici said it is a privilege that the park is the first place of employment for many teenagers in the Valley. “We can teach and guide them in all the qualities they need to realize their dreams for the future,” Quilici said.
The water park is open from mid-May to mid-September and has welcomed 6 million visitors over the past 25 years.
2. It uses a lot of water to keep it clean.
On a normal day, the park’s operations team starts work at 6 a.m. and consists of a crew of high-pressure cleaners cleaning the concrete.
Roaring Springs uses 1.5 million gallons of Meridian city water that circulates through the water park all season. That’s enough to cover a football field half a meter deep. Like all Meridian water, it comes from the aquifer and bedrock of the Snake River Plain aquifer that underlies Ada County.
A certain amount of water is lost through evaporation and when people walk out of pools and attractions, extra water is used every day. Aaron Forsythe, water park operations manager, said the park uses 10,000 to 15,000 gallons of water every day, but “it’s difficult to measure” exactly how much is lost.
Quilici said staff are “extremely vigilant for any spills from pools and slides.”
The water goes through huge sand filter tanks and a chemical process to keep it clean. Quilici said the park also has ultraviolet light that “kills every bug in the water.”
When asked about the park’s efforts to promote sustainability, Quilici said they “definitely have some advanced energy efficient devices to keep the pumps and motors running at their optimal speed.” Deck drains at the end of the slides collect and recirculate water. Also, Forsythe said.
3. It uses a network of security cameras.
Roaring Springs was the first water park nationwide to install the Ellis Aquatic Vigilance System, which is powered by artificial intelligence and video analytics, a technology that uses a special algorithm to analyze digital videos and provide security-related services.
Cameras are installed everywhere in the park. They can see underwater. Roaring Springs has two command centers with operators who are alerted via radios when danger is detected by one of the cameras.
Forsythe said Roaring Springs uses the cameras as an “extra layer of security” on top of lifeguards.
4. Those teenage employees get free passes and parties.
Employees get a free season pass, numerous discounted tickets for friends and family, and are allowed to attend work-related parties ”to make it a really fun social experience,” Quilici said.
Roaring Springs also has a scholarship program for college employees. Quilici said about $30,000 in grants were awarded last year.
5. Have you lost your dentures or wedding ring?
Park staff find lost items every day. Some of the more unique finds include a hammer, dentures and a wedding ring. To get their belongings back, guests fill out a form and have a week to collect them. The park donates unclaimed items, Quilici said.
6. New attractions are planned.
Roaring Springs recently opened Class 5 Canyon, the Northwest’s first wave action river, which simulates a whitewater experience.
Quilici and CEO Pat Morandi travel the country, and sometimes the world, to try new attractions, get inspired by other water parks and bring back ideas for new attractions for Idaho.
Camp IdaH2O is just the first of seven phases of Roaring Springs’ expansion plan. A major new water attraction will be added every two to three years over the next decade, Quilici said
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