Wild Rivers water park reopening in Irvine amid SoCal drought

The opening of a new water park in Orange County has some residents excited, though others are wondering how much water the park will use amid a prolonged drought in Southern California. 

The giant wave pool, lazy river and slides at the new Wild Rivers in Irvine will be filled with thousands of gallons of water in the coming days. 

"Well, I'm definitely torn because I miss Wild Rivers. It shut down when my kids were little and it made us very sad, but yes, we are in a drought," said Aimee Alwood, Foothill Ranch resident. 

Experts said it will initially take up to 900,000 gallons of water to get the water park up and running. 

"Well, there's no question that the optics are questionable," said Professor David Feldman, with the University of California, Irvine, Water Resources Management. "In fairness, the planning for this park probably took place over a lengthy period of time." 

Feldman said the 900,000 gallons of water for the park is a fraction of what golf courses use for irrigation. 

"By comparison, a typical golf course can use anywhere from, say, 300,000 to 500,000 gallons of water a day, considerably more, and fewer people use golf courses," Feldman said. 

Tustin resident Dave Ishmael was a bit put off by the opening of Wild Rivers, but when told about the comparison between the water needed for the park and a golf course, he relented a bit. 

"That's a surprise. That really is a surprise. I don't think most people know that. I think most people look at a situation like that and go, 'Oh my god, look at the water usage.' So, that comes as a surprise," Ishmael said, adding that it does make him feel a little bit better about the water park. 

The new Wild Rivers, located inside of Irvine's Great Park, will use 10% less water than it's original location. A study found there's enough water in the Irvine Ranch Water District supply for the park to operate for at least 20 years. 

"They've done a lot to make sure that it's done water efficiently," said John Fabris, with the Irvine Ranch Water District spokesman. "The new park contains an advanced water filtration system on-site that allows them to take the water, filter it, clean it and use it over and over again on the rides." 

The water park is also a seasonal attraction, with the plan being that it's operated between Memorial Day and Labor Day.