Over the last few years the splash pad, also called a zero-depth waterplay area, has become one of the most requested amenities on Vietnamese resort, township and district park briefs, second only to the conventional children's playground. The reasoning is practical. The climate is hot for most of the year, children love water, but a swimming pool brings supervision duties, lifeguard payroll and running costs that many projects would rather avoid. A splash pad sits neatly in between: real water play with no standing water.
This guide collects the design and installation experience WINAM has built on projects including NovaWorld Phan Thiet, The Grand Ho Tram, Vinhomes Central Park, Feliz En Vista, Celadon City, SC VivoCity and Kenton Node. It focuses on the decisions that genuinely drive the long-term cost of owning a waterplay area.
What a splash pad is, and why zero depth is so attractive
A splash pad is a flat, graded slab fitted with ground jets and vertical spray features. Water is thrown up, falls back to the slab and drains away immediately. The defining principle is that there is no standing water: at any moment the depth of water on the surface is effectively zero.
Compared with a children's pool
- Drowning risk: with no body of static water, the drowning hazard is largely designed out physically. That does not remove the need for supervision, but the lifeguard burden is far lower than a pool.
- Staffing: a pool normally requires certified lifeguards on duty for every opening hour. A splash pad is usually covered by the general amenity attendant.
- Opening hours: a splash pad can be opened, closed or seasonally paused simply by switching off the pumps. A pool has to keep its water in specification whether or not anyone swims.
- Age range: a well designed splash pad serves toddlers and ten year olds on the same slab, while pools usually need a separate shallow basin.
- Off-season value: with the water off, the slab is still a dry plaza usable for events, outdoor classes or weekend markets.
In exchange, two issues have to be confronted at concept stage: water consumption and wet surface safety. Almost every other design decision follows from those two.
The three water system options
This is the single most important decision and it should be settled before the feature layout is drawn, because it dictates plant room size, tank volume, pipe routes and the monthly operating budget.
1. Flow-through, also called drain to waste
Potable water from the mains passes through the features once, falls to the slab, is collected in gullies and discharged to drainage or to landscape irrigation. It is the simplest option: little or no plant room, no tank, no filtration. The water hitting the children is always fresh mains water.
The drawback is consumption. A mid-sized pad with dozens of nozzles running continuously will consume a very large volume of treated water every hour. Where water tariffs are high or mains pressure is limited, that cost escalates quickly. Flow-through suits small pads, school installations, or sites where the discharge can be genuinely reused for irrigation.
2. Recirculation
Spent water drains to an underground balance tank, passes through filtration, is disinfected and pumped back to the features. Only evaporation, wind drift and carry-off on wet bodies need topping up.
This is the water-efficient option and the default for resort-scale pads and water parks. In exchange, the system is effectively a small swimming pool water treatment plant: balance tank, circulation pumps, sand or disc filtration, chemical dosing for disinfection and pH correction, automatic monitoring, and a real plant room. Capital cost is significantly higher and the site needs staff who understand water treatment.
3. Hybrid
A blend of the two. Most of the flow recirculates while a continuous bleed of fresh water is introduced and an equivalent volume dumped, which limits the build-up of dissolved contaminants. Alternatively the pad is split: ground jets on recirculated water, features that toddlers mouth or sit directly under fed from fresh mains.
Hybrid is usually chosen when the owner wants to control water bills without committing to a full treatment plant, or where incoming water quality is unreliable.
Comparison of the three options
| Criterion | Flow-through | Recirculation | Hybrid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital cost | Lowest | Highest | Moderate |
| Water consumption | Very high, continuous | Low, top-up only | Moderate |
| Plant room footprint | Minimal or none | Large, buried tank needed | Moderate |
| Operator skill required | Low | High, water treatment competence | Moderate |
| Chemical cost | Negligible | Ongoing | Lower than full recirculation |
| Electrical cost | Low | High, pumps run continuously | Moderate |
| Water quality risk | Very low | Needs disciplined monitoring | Low to moderate |
| Best suited to | Small pads, schools, sites reusing runoff for irrigation | Resorts, water parks, high-throughput pads | Townships, mid-size pads |
Zoning by age group and by spray intensity
A randomly laid out pad always produces the same two complaints: toddlers are frightened off by strong jets, and older children sprint through the toddler area and knock people over. The fix is explicit zoning on the layout drawing.
Toddler zone
Roughly ages one to four. Low-flow ground jets only, short soft plumes, small themed features such as animals or flowers. Place it at the edge of the pad, close to parent seating, under shade, and off the main circulation route.
Intermediate zone
Roughly ages five to eight. Sequenced ground jets, water arches, tunnels and gentle interactive features. This is normally the largest zone by area.
High intensity zone
Ages nine and up. Tipping buckets, water cannons, strong jets and features that need real effort to trigger. It must be the furthest zone from the toddler area, and the splash radius of any tipping bucket has to be calculated so that the dump does not reach neighbouring zones or walkways.
General layout rules
- Intensity should increase progressively across the pad, never alternate zone by zone.
- A clearly dry route around the pad, so people who do not want to get wet can still pass through.
- Parent viewing points with sightlines across the whole pad, not blocked by tall features.
- The transition between wet slab and dry paving needs its own drainage detail so runoff does not sheet onto shared walkways.
- Keep sufficient clearance between features for running children, using the free space and impact area principles of EN 1176 as the reference.
Non-slip surfacing, falls and drainage
This is the line item owners most often trim and the one that generates the most incidents. A permanently wet surface, bare feet and running children is the worst possible combination for slips.
Surface options
- Poured in place rubber: an EPDM wear layer over an SBR base, giving a surface that is both cushioned and grippy when wet. It is the usual choice wherever tall features create a fall height, because it also delivers impact attenuation to EN 1177 with HIC below 1000 for the relevant critical fall height. On a wet pad it must be detailed for through-drainage with a water-tolerant binder, since permanently saturated rubber is far more demanding than a dry playground.
- Textured concrete or a resin-based non-slip coating: cheaper, chemically robust, but hard. Use it only where there is no fall height, or combine it with rubber under the tall features.
- Tile or natural stone: only if it carries a wet barefoot slip classification, and bear in mind that joints attract algae.
Whatever the material, it must retain grip under wet bare feet without being so abrasive that it grazes skin when a child slides. Ask the supplier for wet barefoot slip test results rather than relying on how the sample feels in the hand.
Falls and collection
- The whole slab must fall to collection points, typically between one and two percent. Flatter than that and water sits; steeper and children lose footing and pushchairs roll.
- Never accept a local low spot. Even a few centimetres of ponding destroys the main advantage of a splash pad and becomes a microbial breeding ground.
- Gully covers and channel gratings must be load rated, non-slip, with slots narrow enough not to trap toes, and removable for cleaning.
- Drainage capacity must be sized on peak simultaneous feature flow plus a rainfall allowance. In Vietnam an intense localised downpour is a mandatory design case.
- Every joint, movement gap and material edge on the slab must be flush so there is nothing to trip on.
See WINAM's safety flooring range for the surfacing options.
Choosing spray equipment
The catalogue is wide, but grouping features by function makes it much easier to compose a balanced pad.
Ground jets
Flush-mounted, nothing protruding, so there is no impact hazard and the slab reverts to a dry plaza when the water is off. Available as straight jets, arcs, misters and rotating patterns. Ground jets should form the largest share of any layout because they are inexpensive, durable and low risk.
Vertical spray features
Poles, arches, showers, water umbrellas and themed sculptures. These give the pad its visual identity and put water overhead. Check free fall height and specify the matching attenuating surface underneath.
Tipping buckets
The most popular feature and the one most often designed badly. A bucket fills and dumps its whole contents at once. Calculate the splash radius, keep a clear buffer under it with no other features, specify a good attenuating surface because children stand waiting and then scatter, and inspect the pivot bearings frequently since it is the most heavily loaded moving part on the pad.
Water cannons and interactive features
Aimable cannons, water wheels, hand valves and activator bollards. These deliver high play value because children control the water. They are also the single most effective water saving device: an activator instead of continuous spraying can cut daily pump running time substantially.
Sequenced control
Instead of running everything at once, the controller splits features into groups and cycles them to a choreography. The pad always looks alive while peak flow and installed pump capacity drop sharply. It is the most effective way to reduce both capital and operating cost, and it is routinely overlooked.
Browse WINAM's water park equipment range to see what combination suits your project scale.
Materials and corrosion
A splash pad is a much harsher environment than a dry playground: chlorinated water, strong sun, and on coastal projects such as Phan Thiet or Ho Tram, salt-laden air as well.
- Stainless steel: in chlorinated and coastal conditions, common grades can pit within a few seasons. Specify a higher corrosion resistant grade for submerged parts and for fasteners.
- Powder coated steel: hot dip galvanise before coating. Any cut or drilled hole made after galvanising is where rust will start.
- Engineering plastics and composites: specify UV stabilised material, since pads are usually unshaded.
- Fasteners and connections: use consistent corrosion resistant materials and avoid mixing dissimilar metals at a joint, which invites galvanic corrosion.
- Buried pipework: pressure-rated plastic pipe, kept accessible for repair. Do not bury a joint under finished surfacing without an inspection chamber.
Electrical and plant room requirements
- Every circuit serving the wet area needs residual current protection, tested regularly with the test button.
- Distribution boards located outside the splash zone with an enclosure rating suited to humid outdoor conditions.
- Earthing and equipotential bonding for all metal structures and metal pipework on the pad.
- The plant room needs ventilation, a floor drain and enough clear space to pull the filter apart and service the pumps. This is the detail most often squeezed at layout stage, and it permanently handicaps operations afterwards.
- Chemical storage kept separate, ventilated, bunded, with personal protective equipment on hand.
- On recirculating systems, invest in automatic disinfectant residual and pH monitoring with alarms rather than relying on manual testing alone.
- Variable speed pumps reduce energy use and hydraulic shock at start-up, and are worth considering on larger pads.
Hygiene and water quality monitoring
On a recirculating pad the water is reused, it contacts skin directly and children will swallow some of it. It therefore has to be managed like pool water and must comply with the applicable national water quality regulations for recreational and domestic water.
- Test disinfectant residual and pH several times per operating day and log the results with the tester's signature.
- Manage bather load. A crowded pad depletes disinfectant very quickly.
- Publish clear rules: no entry with gastrointestinal illness, swim nappies for children who are not toilet trained, and toilets plus a rinse shower near the entrance.
- Backwash the filter on differential pressure, not out of habit.
- Periodically drain, scrub and disinfect the balance tank and collection sumps, and remove settled debris.
- Send samples for independent microbiological testing on a regular cycle and keep the certificates.
- On flow-through pads the focus shifts to cleaning the slab and gullies, since the sprayed water itself is always fresh.
Seasonality and off-season use of the slab
Southern Vietnam supports year-round operation with reduced use during the heaviest rain months. The north has a real cold season and needs a closedown plan: drain the pipework, protect the pumps, cap the nozzles and remove vulnerable components.
The commonly forgotten strength is that with the water off, the slab remains a valuable open space. If power supplies, anchor points and clear floor area are planned in from the start, the pad becomes an event stage, a weekend market, an outdoor classroom or a dry play area. That single decision changes the payback calculation for the whole amenity.
Ten common mistakes
- Choosing the water system after the architectural layout is frozen, leaving nowhere for the tank and plant room.
- Sizing for every feature running simultaneously, which oversizes pumps and pipework when sequenced groups would do the job.
- Ignoring stormwater, so the pad floods after every heavy shower.
- Insufficient or badly executed falls, producing puddles.
- Selecting the surface on appearance first and checking wet slip resistance second.
- Placing the tipping bucket too close to the toddler zone or to a walkway.
- No activators, so the system sprays all day whether or not anyone is playing.
- Materials unsuited to chlorine and coastal air, producing rust within the first operating season.
- A plant room too cramped to remove the filter, so maintenance quietly stops happening.
- No operating log and no named responsible person, so problems are only discovered once they are incidents.
Operations checklist
Daily, before opening
- Walk the whole pad and inspect the surface for cracks, debonding, lifted edges and slippery algae.
- Check every nozzle is clear and not blocked by litter or sand.
- Confirm all gully covers and gratings are present and secure.
- On recirculating systems, test disinfectant residual and pH, log them, and open only when within limits.
- Check balance tank level and pump operation, listening for unusual noise.
- Clear litter from the slab and sumps, and confirm the rules signage is intact.
- Press the test button on the residual current device serving the area.
Weekly
- Wash and scrub the whole slab with a cleaner compatible with the surfacing.
- Remove and rinse strainer baskets, check filter differential pressure and backwash if it exceeds the threshold.
- Check and retighten fasteners on vertical features, especially tipping bucket pivots.
- Verify interactive features and hand valves still operate correctly.
- Inspect chemical dosing pumps, chemical stock levels and suction lines.
- Check lighting and shade structures.
Seasonal or quarterly
- Drain, scrub and disinfect the balance tank and collection sumps.
- Replace or top up filter media per the manufacturer's recommendation.
- Full structural and corrosion inspection, touch up coatings, replace rusted components.
- Re-verify impact attenuating surfacing at every fall height position against EN 1177.
- Reassess the whole installation against the safety principles of EN 1176: head and finger entrapment, sharp edges, free space.
- Independent water sampling and record keeping.
- End of season closedown: drain pipework, protect pumps and nozzles.
WINAM from concept to operation
WINAM advises on concept and layout, calculates flow and helps select the right water system, supplies the spray equipment, installs the safety surfacing and hands over with operating guidance for the owner's facility team. Experience across NovaWorld Phan Thiet, The Grand Ho Tram, Vinhomes Central Park, Feliz En Vista, Celadon City, SC VivoCity and Kenton Node lets us balance play value against capital cost and long-term running cost.
Get in touch for advice and a preliminary scheme for your project:
- Hotline: (+84) 9 6161 0202 - (+84) 9 31 176 176
- Email: [email protected]
- Office: 226/4A Le Trong Tan, Phuong Tay Thanh, Thanh pho Ho Chi Minh
- Contact form: send an enquiry to WINAM
