Raging Waves is Illinois' largest outdoor waterpark. Sitting on more than 58 acres, this waterpark features 32 water slides, 2 kiddie pool areas, a wave pool, a lazy river, 37 private cabanas and more. Their Great Barrier Reef wave pool is enjoyed by thousands of guests daily, each excited to take on the seven different patterns the wave pool has to offer.

Challenge

With the growing popularity of Raging Waves, the 25,000 square foot wave pool was becoming the must-see attraction. As the waterpark was growing in number of attractions, so was the number of daily bathers jumping in the wave pool. With four traditional sand filters operating at full capacity dedicated to the wave pool, Raging Waves turned to the aquatic specialists at Evoqua to see how they can improve water quality while reducing water consumption.

Solution

With bather safety, water quality and sustainability concerns being top of mind, Evoqua recommended the installation of two Defender® regenerative media filters to replace the four traditional sand filters. The two Defender systems were dedicated to the wave pool and filtering 350,000 gallons of water with a flow of 2,900 gallons per minute. The increased number of bathers were no match for the Defender® filter units, the water remained clear and the wave pool stayed open 24/7.

The savings in water quickly become a significant part of the water treatment upgrade. With the two Defender regenerative media filters requiring draining only once a week, while the four traditional filters requiring backwashing once a day, at roughly 10,000 gallons a day, the water park was able to reduce it’s weekly water consumption for backwash from 70,000 to 2,000 gallons! With the savings in water Raging Waves was able to increase the size of their expansion project and reinvest such savings into upgrading their facilities.

Results

With not having to backwash, the waterpark didn’t have to add fresh water to recoup what was being lost by the system. This provided savings in chemical usage while increasing bather safety. The water balance within the wave pool is the best it has ever been and has been stable with a perfect saturation index. No need to add calcium hardness, alkalinity to the pool water or any clarifying chemicals.

As an added benefit, replacing their four sand filters with two Defender filters offered a 75% savings in footprint, equal to a two-car garage. Ultimately, offering the opportunity to store their golf carts and other facility items during the winter months. During maintenance the system’s interface is intuitive and user friendly, helping guide the operator in replacing the media or draining of the water via its bump technology.