An otherwise gray and drizzly day was dealt a splash of satisfaction on Thursday when Patrick Cancilla of NW Playground Equipment flipped a multitude of gauges that brought the new splash pad at McEuen Park to life. “Working with water can be tricky,” Cancilla said as he adjusted pressure to the water park.

After a couple hours of testing, the splash pad was deemed ready for use. Now it’s just a matter of waiting for Mother Nature to cooperate. The east end of the park—including the 12,000-square-foot splash pad, is scheduled to open on Friday, May 2. It will be up to the city’s Parks Department to determine if weather is nice enough to turn on the eight water features. Other areas of the park are expected to open in phases throughout the month of May.