Five years ago the St. Charles Parks had its pools and slides inspected. With each water park aging to over 20 years old, it was said that Wapelhorst and Blanchette needed to be updated. From there, the St. Charles Parks and Recreation, a board of members who look over the parks, created a five-year plan to coordinate, plan and construct a new pool and some new slides. Wapelhorst is finishing their construction and will open just in time for summer.

“This year Wapelhorst will be even more like a water park, and we’ll have a lot of activities for the people to do which will be fun,” Maggie Cox, senior and St. Charles lifeguard, said.

St . Charles Parks and Recreation worked with the company Contegra Construction, who hired a company called Capri Pool to build the pools. They constructed a newer, bigger pool within the water park, a lazy river, new slides, a larger children’s structure, a new building with a pump room, a lifeguard/first aid room and an extra bathroom. There’s also new shaded structures scattered throughout the park to sit by the pool. Other factors like entry prices and bathrooms were updated to fit the park. Adult prices are now $8.50, and senior and child prices are now $7.50. Everything within the grounds is either new or has been updated, with the exception of the blue speed slide. The large slide stayed due to residents’ demand.

“The most exciting thing is seeing the excitement of residents,” Aquatics Coordinator Missy Hollander said. “Especially applying to the new Wapelhorst, I like to see families making memories and enjoying themselves together.”

The new park will have an opening ceremony, open to the public, on May 24 at 6 p.m. The actual park opens the following day May 25 at regular pool times and stays open for the rest of the summer.

“I’m really excited for the new boomerango slide,” Michael Willmann said. “It looks fun, and I’ve heard it’s supposed to be the fastest slide there. I live right next to it, so I see the construction almost every day.”