Waters Edge Aquatic Design
Long Branch Lagoon Dodge City, Kan.
Architect: The Architect
Aquatic Designer: Waters Edge Aquatic Design
Landscape Architect/Civil Engineer: SMH Consultants
General Contractor: McCownGordon Construction
Pool/Spa/Waterfeature Contractor: Capri Pools & Aquatics
Structural Engineer: Thornton Tomasetti
MEP Engineer: Hoss & Brown Engineers
HITCH YOUR WAGON
SUPPLIER INFORMATION
ADA lift sprays: Water Odyssey; Vortex Aquatic Structures Intl.
Controller: BECS Technology
Filtration: Neptune-Benson
Guard chairs/safety equipment: United Swimtime
Heaters: Sentry Pool
Interactive waterfeatures: Vortex Aquatic Structures Intl.
Pumps: Grundfos
Racing platforms: Spectrum Aquatics
Slides: WhiteWater West
Springboards: Duraflex
Sun shades: USA Shade
Wave machines: Aquatic Development Group
Maybe Dodge City, Kan. got a bad rap. The Old West town was known more for its gunfighters than its thriving cattle trade. Then there’s that saying made famous by “Gunsmoke.” But residents bet nobody would want to “get outta Dodge” with this 28,000-square-foot park just south of Wyatt Earp Blvd. filled with play features, historical references and artifacts.
A western/prairie theme was a given. The park’s name plays off the Long Branch Saloon, famous for shootouts and standoffs. Spraying windmills, rock waterfalls, wooden buckets and “tin” dumping buckets, along with features that look like snakes, cacti, and cattails reinforce the theme. Historic Dodge City architecture, to coordinate with a downtown retail renewal, included red brick bathhouse and filter buildings and exposed wood beams. Wood post and rail fencing surround deck features, and muted colors are used throughout. Several historic items were donated, including an outhouse, well pump, hitching post, barrels, stock tank and wooden wagon.
Play features include several spray features, slides and waterfalls —and a 721-foot lazy river that passes through a wave pool.