From Oasis to Soak City in Palm Springs

by Larry Shield, regional editor

Bouganvillea trees, on the right give the ground cover some color amidst the Surfrider Rapids. Knott?EUR??,,????'???s wanted to have lots of color in this arid desert environment. The foliage provided some contrast to the packed dirt on the slope. Photo by Christine Shield

Covering 16 acres in Palm Springs, Calif., Soak City has become a vacation refuge for those seeking relief from the desert heat. Oasis Water Park opened at this site in 1986, but Knott?EUR??,,????'???s Berry Farm purchased the land and facilities six years ago, renaming it Soak City.

The water slides, wave pool, wading pool and fun house circulate more than 1 million gallons of water. So taking care of the water quality along with the plant materials and site amenities can be quite a task.

Large patches of Bermuda grass are strewn throughout the park and are fertilized every two months to keep green. The fertilizer kills crabgrass and other weeds. The lawns are mowed once per week with one worker, who uses a Toro push behind lawn mower. A Toro edger gets all those places along the edges. For debris such as leaves from trees and buds from flowers, a Toro leaf blower gets the job done. The blowers sweep the debris into corners, where it?EUR??,,????'???s swept up and placed into large dumpsters.

?EUR??,,????'??Depending on the season a different fertilizer may be used on the lawns,?EUR??,,????'?? said Soak City general maintenance and water quality manager Abel Ortega. ?EUR??,,????'??Right now we?EUR??,,????'???re using a hot weather fertilizer from Miracle Gro with a special machine to roll the fertilizer. We used a specialized fertilizer for the planter areas.?EUR??,,????'??

A mixture of Best 16-6-8 (nitrogen, phosphate, potash) premium plant food is used for the plant materials and 6-20-20 for the turf.

This child found a way to climb an olea europaea tree in the parking lot at Soak City. However, most of the trees inside the park have been barricaded to keep children out of the public setting of trees. Photos by Larry Shield

Ortega said Soak City contracts out a maintenance company, which comes out to the park every two weeks to spray for insects, ants, rats and other pests. In the northwest corner of the facility a storage shack keeps the equipment hidden from the tourists.

Having a staff of only two workers for grounds maintenance, Ortega cruises around with a Honda electrical vehicle. When the need arises and he needs more help, Ortega can receive help from the park?EUR??,,????'???s security team.

Of the park?EUR??,,????'???s 16 acres, Ortega estimated about 2 to 3 acres are covered with plant material or turf. So irrigating all this can be challenging. Once again Toro supplied most of the sprinkler heads for irrigation.

?EUR??,,????'??We have an account with Toro and they have heavy-duty parts which seem to last longer,?EUR??,,????'?? said Ortega. ?EUR??,,????'??We have 20 inside irrigation stations and 12 outside irrigation stations with controllers. We use bubblers to irrigate the grass and trees.?EUR??,,????'??

Large patches of Bermuda grass are strewn throughout the park, so visitors can have a place to relax on lawn chairs. Lawns are fertilized every two months with added glyphosate herbicide to kill crabgrass and other weeds.

In the parking lot the trees are trimmed once a week, or when needed, said Ortega.

Ortega personally tests every two hours for chemicals in all the pools and water features for chlorine, alkalinity, pH, hardness, etc. Although the park is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Ortega said he makes sure it?EUR??,,????'???s safe for the tourists to plan in each of the attractions.

?EUR??,,????'??In hot weather we use more chlorine,?EUR??,,????'?? said Ortega. ?EUR??,,????'??We could use from 70 to 100 gallons of chlorine per day, because it evaporates quicker in the heat. A DE filter helps to circulate the water throughout the entire park. It?EUR??,,????'???s the best filter I?EUR??,,????'???ve ever had.?EUR??,,????'??

Ortega said the key to maintaining good water quality is to clean the chlorine probes at least every two weeks. He cleans the filters by hand with a soap solution and a little bit of diluted acid.

One of the main attractions of the park is the Kahuna?EUR??,,????'???s Beach House which has four water slides, several ramps, steps, mini-slides and a large bucket that dumps hundreds of gallons of water about every 90 seconds. Kahuna?EUR??,,????'???s Beach House has 12 drains with its own system for circulating the water. On the other hand the slides and wave pool also have their own water systems, said Ortega.

?EUR??,,????'??This year Knott?EUR??,,????'???s has introduced a lot of new plant materials and we order our plants through them,?EUR??,,????'?? said Ortega. ?EUR??,,????'??Knott?EUR??,,????'???s has a landscape architect on staff that decides which plant materials we have.?EUR??,,????'??

Palm trees dot the landscape by the Tidal Wave Tower, appropriate because Soak City is located in Palm Springs, Calif. To the left of the slide is a gazania wildflower mix.

The plants are irrigated twice per day from 5 to 7 minutes, once before the park opens and the second time after the park closes. Depending on how hot the day was the grasses need to water twice per day for 15 minutes or more. Toro sprinklers cover 90, 180 or 360 degrees radius, depending on the area. Hunter PCP and Toro sprinkler heads were used. A timer comes on to run the irrigation system. However, if it rains for a couple of days in a row, Ortega can manually shut off the system.

Soak City is open to the public starting the second week of March and closes at the end of October. A maintenance grounds crew is used during the off-season, although more help is needed during the summer.

?EUR??,,????'??We drain all the pools and keep them empty for at least three months,?EUR??,,????'?? said Ortega. ?EUR??,,????'??We acid wash the pools and make sure that they?EUR??,,????'???re in good shape so we don?EUR??,,????'???t have to repair it.?EUR??,,????'??

As far as keeping the grounds clean, Ortega said a park service or staff member takes care of that, along with servicing restrooms and collecting trash.

Soak City also has two other water parks, also owned by Knott?EUR??,,????'???s Berry Farm: one in San Diego and the other in Buena Park, Calif., across the street from Knott?EUR??,,????'???s Berry Farm.