Buckets of fun
As children go a little further, they will find the dumping buckets. This feature comprises three buckets that fill with water and dump the contents onto swimmers at unpredictable times. It is one of the most popular features at the park and one where children can be found smiling ear to ear. To make this feature even more fun for kids, another ring of bubblers was installed around the base of the dumping buckets.
As bathers continue a little further into the pool, it gets a little deeper (only up 0.6 m [2 ft]), but enough for smaller children to dunk their heads in the water and even learn to swim.
Larger pool for more fun
Just as the little ones do not always want to be with the big kids, the big kids do not always like the little ones hanging around either. That said, Quinte’s Isle recognized this, so another pool—built at the same time as the new family aquatic venue—was designed for teenagers and adults. Essentially, it is a party and sports pool that allows swimmers the ability to play basketball and volleyball or test their abilities on the climbing wall.
At 12.2 m (40 ft) the pool is also long enough to permit lane swimming for those who just want to get some exercise. The climbing wall, however, is the main attraction. These features are still relatively new to the pool industry, but are growing rapidly in popularity. This one in particular is 3.6 m (12 ft) high and 2.4 m (8 ft) wide, giving bathers a large area to climb up and jump off into the water.
Built to stand the test of time
Both pools are constructed of cast-in-place concrete to ensure they will last a long time. Behind the scenes, each pool’s filtration system is powered by pumps that are controlled by variable-frequency drives (VFDs) and use vertical sand filters.
The teen/adult pool runs at 473 litres per minute (lpm) (125 gallons per minute [gpm]) with the 1.2-m (4-ft) vertical filter providing a 4.8 hour turnover rate (which is not only above the industry’s six-hour turnover rate standards, but also the Ontario health code’s turnover rate). The family pool also runs at 473 lpm (125 gpm) in conjunction with a 1.2-m (4-ft) vertical sand filter that provides a 1.9 hour turnover rate. (A two-hour turnover rate was the minimum desired as it is a heavily used shallow-water pool). These circulation systems provide excellent water quality for swimmers.
In the mechanical room, all of the plumbing is rigid, schedule-80 polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which was professionally designed and installed to ensure easy operation and maintenance of the pools. Quinte’s Isle takes pride in its campground and is very diligent in maintaining and operating its systems to their full potential. A well-designed and organized mechanical system, with properly trained operators, means the pool systems will last longer and perform better.
To heat the water, each pool is equipped with its own high-efficiency gas heater. This equipment can operate on propane or natural gas and, in this case, the campground uses propane to fire them. The fact they operate at 96 per cent efficiency and their ability to increase the water temperature quickly were huge factors as to why the owners selected these heaters. The heaters allow the park to offer guests perfectly tempered pool water all season long. Their high efficiency also enables Quinte’s Isle Campark operators to save money, too.
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