Ogopogo is gone and Kelowna’s new water park looks finished

KELOWNA – The giant Ogopogo head is long gone and it looks as though the taps at City Park Water Park are about to turn on.

The water park appears to be almost complete, with the only vestige of construction being the yellow fencing surrounding the old work zone. When City of Kelowna staff were asked if there was a plan to open the park this weekend, they said that there would be a media release this week, further indicating the grand opening would be soon.

Changes to the waterpark are part of the repair work needed after the floods of 2017 and 2018 kept it closed.

The aim was to make the park more flood resistant and Waterplay Solutions, the original supplier for the water park when it was first built, worked with their agency partner RecTec Industries to contribute new aquatic play features to the project.

Along with the improvements came the end to a 30-year staple of play, which took the form of the Okanagan's friendly neighbourhood monster.

The iconic concrete Ogopogo that was central to the City Park Water Park was designed and installed in 1990. It was demolished and hauled away in chunks.

Current codes and standards do not permit climbable features at spray parks, said city staff several months ago when it became it was clear that it would soon come down.

It was concrete, 53-feet long and 8-feet tall at the highest point.

The new park doesn't appear to have any climbing structures.

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