The big slide at Electric City Water Park is back up and running.

The slides and pool opened at noon June 11.

The slide was not available for use when the water park opened June 6 as staff repaired the fiberglass as a safety precaution.

Jessica Compton, deputy Park and Recreation director, told The Electric that the slide has a slick fiberglass surface, but grooves and soft spots develop with water running down it, and those spots needed to be addressed.

The neighborhood pools and splash pads open June 13.

Neighborhood pools, splash pad opening pushed to June 13; water park slides being repaired

During the June 8 Park and Recreation Advisory Board meeting, Compton told the board that there were some mechanical issues at the water park as the facility opened and staff are working to get the neighborhood pools open for the summer.

She said the city has old facilities that need a lot of maintenance and the city “can’t just keep putting Band-Aids on it.”

Compton said they’re fully staffed for lifeguards and swim instructors for the summer.

City pools open June 6, Flow Rider remains down this summer

Outdoor pool operations are weather-dependent.

According to Park and Rec:

• if air temperature is below 65 degrees at 8 a.m., morning lap swim from 9-11 a.m. is canceled
• if air temperature is below 65 degrees at 10 a.m., open swim is canceled for the day
• if it is consistently raining, the outdoor pools will be closed
• thunder and lightning will close the facility but the length of closure depends on the length of the storm and possible cleanup after a high-wind thunderstorm

Flowrider remains down this season, repair scheduled for fall [2025]

The Flow Rider and Lazy River remain closed this summer due to mechanical and structural issues, according to Park and Rec.

Because of those issues, the facilities don’t meet city safety codes.

City pools closing for the season, lifeguard shortage continues [2025]

City staff are comparing costs of replacing the existing equipment versus replacing the structure entirely.

Mitchell Pool will remain open for the summer.

Fees will not change for the water park and are as follows:

• Youth, 3-17: $7
• Adults, 18+: $10
• Monthly lap swim: $40
• Youth 10-visit pass: $60
• Adult 10-visti pass: $85

Those fees were set by commission resolution in 2024, but have shifted over the last decade.

A 2014 commission resolution set entry fees for Mitchell Pool and slides at $3 for youth and $5 for adults and the Flow Rider package at $10 for youth and $12 for adults.

City approves new recreation fees, including fees for new aquatics facility [2024]

Those fees remained in place through 2022, when a new fee structure was implemented, setting entry fees to the whole park at $5 for youth and $8 for adults.

There doesn’t appear to be a commission resolution associated with that fee change in publicly available city records.

Electric City Water Park opens June 3 [2022]

That rate shifted to $6 for youth and $9 for adults in 2023, again with no commission resolution.

Commissioners reject pool fee increase [2018]

The Flow Rider was closed in 2022 and appears to have remained closed since.

In August 2024, City Commissioners approved a single-source contract to International Foam Pros for $128,900 to resurface the Flow Rider.

The project was delayed due to weather and crews coming from Texas for the repairs, according to city staff.

The crews needed a consistent two weeks of weather above 60 degrees before the facility opened for the summer, Compton, deputy Park and Rec director, told The Electric last summer.

City awards Flow Rider repair contract [2024]

The construction would shut down the entire unit, including the lazy river, so the repair was scheduled for the fall, after the water park closes for the season.

Compton told The Electric earlier this spring that as they prepared for the project, they found significantly greater problems with the Flow Rider.

She said the contractor couldn’t get bonded, as required by the city, rendering the contract null and void.

“Park and Recreation knows how important and popular this piece of equipment is not only to our community but to guests,” Compton told The Electric last summer.

The city’s Flow Rider is one of the originals, so repair and maintenance is available from select companies, she said.

The Flow Rider has been unusable for the past two operating seasons at the water park and the current condition has reached “surface material failure,” Park and Rec said in 2024.

Commissioners approve contract to finish splash pad project at water park [2024]

The top layer should have a smooth glass-like surface but has gone porous, allowing moisture into the sublevel and making the top level rough so surf pads can’t glide across the water correctly, according to the August 2024 staff report.

The Flow Rider was originally installed in 2001 and had major repairs and resurfacing in 2006, 2010, 2013 and 2016, according to Park and Rec.

Once the existing foam is pulled up, the city will address any concrete issues as quickly as possible to keep the project moving and the contractor will not be responsible for the concrete, city staff said while awarding the contract in 2024.

City water park closed for repair project July 29-30 [2024]

Under the now voided contract, International Foam Pros would have torn down the existing foam slides, resurfaced them with a new one-inch foam, foam coating and top coating.

The project includes 1,600-square feet of new foam with 700-square feet of recoating the exit area light blue.

The project was to be funded through the swimming pools cash balance and was included in the budget commissioners approved in July 2024.

Park and Rec is offering classes and programs at the water park, neighborhood pools and Aim High Big Sky Recreation Center this summer. Those listings are available on the Park and Rec website.

Two-week sessions of outdoor swim lessons are available at the water park this summer. Registration is here.

The next sound bowl is June 21 at Electric City Water Park, which includes an hour of floating sound bowl and ice cream. Registration is here.

On July 4, the water park is hosting a grass volleyball tournament and other activities from noon to 6 p.m.