Albion will reduce spray park hours from 12 to 7 each day when it opens in June
Photo by Tom Rivers: These kids get drenched at the splash pad at Bullard Park last June 29. The spray park has been popular since it opened in June 2021.
Village trying to ease strain on water system with storage tank being replaced in Gaines
ALBION – The Village of Albion is trying to cut back on the water usage at the spray park and agreed this evening to reduce the hours from 12 to 7 when it is open starting next month.
The spray park is expected to open on June 1 and it will be available from noon to 7 p.m. That is down from the 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. last year.
The village is currently working to take out the 1-million-gallon water storage tank from 1962 on Route 98 in Gaines, north of the five corners. A new 750,000-gallon tank will go in its place. The project will take a big storage tank off line for about three months, said Adam Rush, Albion’s chief operator for the water plant.
The village won’t have the capacity it typically has with the water system. That is prompting the Village Board to reduce the spray park hours, hoping that will ease demand on the system.
Besides less hours, the village will look to reduce the 5-minute cycle times for the water when kids hit a button an activate the 18 different elements. A touch pad triggers the water to start flowing.
The board said starting the spray park at noon gives the summer park program two hours with the option of using the site. The ark program runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Staying open until 7 p.m., also gives parents getting out at work around 5 a chance to take their kids to Bullard for the splash pad.
The spray park has been a big draw, not only for Albion residents but it brings families from Brockport, Lyndonville, Corfu and Batavia, said Jay Pahura, the DPW superintendent.
He said the village is bearing the full cost of running the spray park, even though it is used by so many people from outside the village.
“The Village of Albion is footing the bill,” Pahura said. “And Adam (chief operator at the water plant) is struggling to keep the tank full.”
