A member of the Oak Harbor City Council said he was “absolutely shocked” to learn during a meeting earlier this month that the water bill for a splash park totals $100,000 a year.

The city’s new parks manager agreed that the cost was “totally inappropriate and unacceptable” but said he had plans for possibly subsidizing and conserving water.

Councilmember Jim Woessner asked about the high cost of the recreational water during a discussion of budget adjustments for 2022. He was surprised to learn that the initial $50,000 budget was to be doubled to $100,000 next year.

Parks Manager Don Crawford explained that the Windjammer Park splash park, officially named Shipwreck Shores, was opened by proclamation of the mayor during a heat wave on July 1 of this year. It ran 10:30-7 p.m., seven days a week.

Woessner pointed out that the park closed in early September.

“A hundred thousand dollars for two months of operation…” he said. “Seems like an incredible amount of money to me.”

Crawford agreed that the cost made him “cringe” when he learned of it. He explained that the splash park is unusual in the region for not recycling or recirculating the water, which accounts for the high costs. Instead of being cleaned and reused, the water is piped into the nearby sewage treatment plant for treatment.

Woessner pointed out that the city purchases all its water, which is piped in from the Skagit River, and just built a new state-of-the-art sewage treatment facility designed to conserve water. He said it was just being “dumped down the drain” and not even used for watering foliage in the park.

“It blows my mind that we built a splash park that is not recirculating water in any shape or form,” he said.

“I guess I just have to say again: It absolutely blows my mind,” he added.

Crawford agreed with Woessner, saying the high cost is going to be an ongoing challenge for the city. He said he would report back to the council after pursuing plans for subsidizing the water bill and cutting usage.

In response to questions from the Whidbey News-Times, the city reported that staff is investigating the option of changing the splash park system to recycle water, but initial research shows the option to be cost prohibitive.

“For this reason, staff is investigating alternatives, including push button features that allow for the water feature to be activated upon a user pushing a button instead of running the splash park at all times,” the city email said. “They are also considering other options to address water usage.”

The city doesn’t use treated water from the Clean Water Facility in the splash park because state and federal rules prevent the reutilization of effluent water for potable uses.