After realizing the original plan would be bad for Stinson Creek waterworks' budget, the city of Fulton opted to change the upcoming splash pad at Memorial Park to run on circulated, filtered water rather than directly from the lines.
City Council heard about the changes to the public water recreation facility at its regular meeting last week, and the Utility Board approved recommending additional funds needed to complete the more costly project be taken from water department coffers.
The city had originally agreed to a splash pad, originally budgeted at about $185,000 to $200,000, that drew water directly from the water mains, dechlorinated it after it was used and dumped it into the creek to be treated in the city's water treatment facility.
Director of Administration Bill Johnson said plan was originally preferred over the self-contained filtration system that would cost an additional $50,000 to $60,000, but City Engineer Greg Hayes soon discovered problems with the plan to dump treated water into the creek.
"Clay's (Caswell, Parks and Recreation director) original design had an output of about 500 gallons per minute," Johnson said in the Monday Utility Board meeting. "So we did some calculations and to run that on a daily basis in warmer months would cost the city over $25,000 a month. That's like dumping 60 percent of one of the water towers into the creek every day."