McDade Park’s splash pad will remain closed for at least the rest of the week pending a pump repair project, Lackawanna County Parks and Recreation Director Paul Bechtel said.
The county, which owns McDade Park and its recently renovated pool/splash pad complex, were waiting late Tuesday on final quotes and availability for a new pump controller. Officials first announced the pump problem Sunday and identified the controller as the cause Monday afternoon.
Prior to the pump issue, the splash pad had opened for the season despite McDade’s pool remaining closed pending a more substantial project to repair leaks discovered when workers attempted to fill the pool earlier this year. An engineering consultant ultimately recommended that all of the tile joints on the pool’s floor be repaired, though the timeline for that project remains unclear and McDade’s 2025 swim season remains uncertain.
The renovated pool opened in August 2023, part of a $3.1 million project that also included a new bathhouse, restrooms and splash pad equipment. The county opened the pool last year in late June after a delay prompted by a prior leak repair.
“This year, rather than attempt to fix the new leaks on a piecemeal basis, the county will seek bids from other contractors for comprehensive repairs,” county officials said in a mid-June press release. “The bid process, coupled with construction, will be time-consuming.”
The cost of the pending pool repairs won’t be known until the scope of the work is defined and the county receives competitive bids.
The splash pad pump repair is a far less extensive project.
Officials planned to order both the replacement controller piece and a new pump and use whatever they acquire first to make the necessary fix, county spokesman Patrick McKenna said.
Meanwhile, the lakes at the county’s Covington, Aylesworth and Merli-Sarnoski parks remain open for swimming. The county reassigned lifeguards who otherwise would have worked at the McDade pool to instead guard the lake swimming areas, officials said last month.