Phot courtesy of Splashdown Vernon / Facebook

By Liam Verster

Splashdown Safety Concerns

Inspection timelines up to Splashdown operators, park partially reopening

Jun 30, 2025 | 12:38 PM

The independent agency tasked with overseeing safety compliances said the delayed opening of Splashdown Vernon comes as several slides were not up to code.

The local waterpark was scheduled to open for the season Friday, June 27, but has pushed back its opening date after Technical Safety B.C. inspected the site and found safety issues with six of the 11 slides.

There were several incidents at a waterslide park in the Lower Mainland last summer, one of which saw a young child suffer life-altering injuries. A review of the park and incidents was done and a report was compiled which included recommendations for upkeep and maintenance. Those recommendations were shared with Splashdown Vernon, as it has a slide that is similar in design and age as the one investigated in the report.

Speaking with Vernon Matters, a representative from the oversight agency said the recommendations were presented to Splashdown Vernon in February, and the agency and the park worked together over the months, noting Splashdown management and the maintenance team were briefed on the incident findings in mid-April.

“They asked questions and we were clear with what we were looking for. Then what we do is we wait for the waterslide park to let us known when they’re ready for an inspection,” Kate Parker, vice president of operations with Technical Safety B.C. (TSBC), told Vernon Matters.

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“So after April 30th we waited and they let us know they were ready for an inspection June 18. So we went out and we inspected the slides; five of them got conditional passes, which means there’s something that probably needs to be fixed but it’s not integral to the slide’s safety, it’s safe to run but they need to fix this thing; but six of the slides had issues that were integral to the slide’s safety, so we outlined for them the slide issues and what we needed for them to do and provide us as confirmation that that has been done.”

She did not have specifics about the issues found at the local waterpark, saying they could be related to anything from slide surface bubbling to improperly closed fixtures.

Splashdown Vernon’s director of operations previously told Vernon Matters that they had limited contact with TSBC since receiving the inspection findings, but Parker said they had been in contact “almost daily” since June 18, noting the agency’s and the park’s engineers met Saturday, June 28, to go over the findings once again and answer any questions.

“Our engineer was available all weekend. They were working together over the weekend, and, just as of [Monday morning], we just received an updated documentation as of 11 p.m. [Sunday] night,” Parker said.

“Our engineers have been waiting for that since June 18, so we’ve just received it and they’re working through that now. I don’t have those results yet.”

Parker said it is up to Splashdown Vernon to address the issues found in the June 18 inspection and then submit the required documentation, at which point safety inspectors that are stationed in the Okanagan will be dispatched to the park and do a follow up review. She said it could take a day or two between receiving the documents and undertaking the inspections.

TSBC did not order the park to delay it’s opening, noting five of the slides are cleared for use. Splashdown Vernon justified delaying the opening in telling Vernon Matters they wanted to wait for the entire park to be ready for use to fit the needs of all visitors.

Parker added she understood the impacts the delayed opening and required maintenance on the six slides could have on the company and its employees, but noted these were safety concern that needed to be addressed.

“As a mother myself, I could never look another mother in the eyes and say ‘I let your kid go down something that we had’nt ensured was safe'” the TSBC representative said.

“[I can appreciate] The devastation and the frustration that they’re feeling because they haven’t opened in time, but it’s nothing compared to the devastation that we’d feel if another child was injured.”

Though still not able to run all it’s slides, Splashdown Vernon will open to the public.

The waterpark said in an email to Vernon Matters that it will do a partial reopening with the five slides that passed inspection earlier this month starting Wednesday, July 2.

“The decision was difficult because we are disappointed to know that our guests’ will ultimately have their experience negatively impacted due to the limited attractions,” Splashdown Vernon said in its email Monday, June 30.

“Despite the hurdles we continue to face, we feel we must do what we can to provide employment to our staff, and to be here for our community and vacationers who still wish to include Splashdown as part of their summer activities.”

The safety oversight agency said it was up to Splashdown Vernon to fix those slides and submit the necessary documents, at which point the items would be re-inspected and, if they passed, reopened.

Splashdown was scheduled to open for the season Friday, June 27.

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