Why does the City turn off the taps at the Splash Park and Platzl Fountain at 4:30 p.m.?

Posted:

The short answer…to keep you safe!

The long answer…City staff have carefully planned re-opening of City parks and facilities in order to help flatten the COVID-19 curve. It has been proven that UV rays from the sun will sanitize, or deactivate viruses (including SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19), on surfaces. Most importantly, those surfaces need to be dry and the sun needs time to work. A 4:30 p.m. close time allows staff to shut off the water, allows surfaces to dry, and allows the sun to do its job and deactivate any viruses so that facilities are ready for play the next day.

This is similar to why Rotary Park washrooms close at 4:30 p.m. In order to keep you and City staff safe, washroom cleaner needs time to work. At 4:30 p.m., City staff enter the washrooms and spray a thick layer of disinfectant on everything. They then activate air exchangers to remove any airborne viruses. They close and lock the door to let the disinfectant do its job, returning in the morning to wipe everything down.

We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause however, we have carefully planned a coordinated re-opening of the facilities at Rotary Park in order to limit the spread of COVID-19 in our community. We will continue to monitor the situation going forward and will be sure to post any changes to the Splash Park and Platzl Fountain operating hours on the City website at www.kimberley.ca and on our social media accounts.

Thank you for your patience.

If you’d like more information, please email operations@kimberley.ca.