Splash inflatable water park eyes eastern Broken Arrow

By John Dobberstein, Editor

Broken Arrow city councilors will consider a special-use permit Tuesday for a proposed water park on the city’s east side.

Splash Aqua Park Inflatables is requesting the permit to build the park on 170 acres at the northeast corner of New Orleans Street and County Line Road. The land is currently zoned A-1 for agricultural use and the park would utilize the pond near the Jack Graves Outdoor Education Center.

The Broken Arrow Zoning Ordinance permits “general outdoor recreation” in A-1 districts, which includes water parks and slides, with a Specific Use Permit.

Splash Aqua Park has a similar operation in Wichita, Kan., which has been operating for approximately 3 years and has provided information regarding the functions of the park.

Up to 200 people are potentially out on the park per hour, according to information from the city. The park would be open to the public from May to September.

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Anchors are screwed into the bottom of the pond to hold the inflatables in place, and at the end of the season the inflatables are removed, leaving the anchors in place with buoys to mark their location for installation upon the next season.

Additionally, the applicant says nearby Northeastern State University is supportive of the proposal and there is an agreement between them to allow the park to use NSU’s parking lot and accesses — providing a large amount of parking and two entries and exits.

The permit can be approved only if the City Council finds that certain criteria have been met, and city staff believe that is the case and are recommending approval. The Broken Arrow Planning Commission also recommended approval last week after reviewing the request.

As of last Friday, no Broken Arrow residents had signed up to speak in opposition to the proposal.