BATHURST'S newest summer attraction opens to the public on Saturday and is sure to be an instant hit.
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Bathurst Aqua Park will be suitable for users of all ages and will make a trip to Ben Chifley Dam a must for most local families this summer.
An amber alert for blue green algae at the dam this week is an unwelcome development but will not impact on the opening or other dam users.
And the opening of the aqua park will take the Bathurst region one step closer to finally utilising the dam for all it is worth.
The raising of the dam wall two decades ago established for Bathurst a degree of water security that is the envy of most regional centres.
While it may not be the case for much longer, it has been a source of pride for Bathurst Regional Council that the city has never been forced to water restrictions even during recent droughts that have crippled other towns and left farms on the outskirts of Bathurst reduced to dustbowls.
But there has always been the potential for the dam to be used as much more than a water storage and the Bathurst Aqua Park fits the bill perfectly.
After the Sydney Olympics, council acquired some cabins from the Athletes’ Village and installed them on-site at the dam as accommodation for visiting families.
And about 10 years ago, council finally upgraded and sealed the road that leads to the dam, immediately increasing the amount of traffic going there and back for water-based recreation activities such as water skiing and canoeing.
The aqua park is the next piece of the puzzle, and the most significant so far.
Anyone who has visited Lithgow’s Lake Lyell over the past few summers would have seen just how many Bathurst families have also made the trip to take advantage of the Aqua Blitz fun park there.
So there is clearly a demand for this type of venue and the aquatic park now taking pride of place at Chifley Dam is much bigger than the one at Lake Lyell.
The challenge will be ensuring the new aqua park is run in conjunction with other dam users rather than in competition with them.
It needs to be an asset that enhances the dam’s facilities, not one that detracts from what is already there.
Build it and they will come, the old movie poster said.
And so now it’s built. The rest is up to you.