Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Cal-OSHA is looking at other speed slides in California water parks to compare them with the Emerald Plunge in Dublin, CA where a boy was injured Saturday during the grand opening of the waterpark.







Tuesday, May 30, 2017 05:38PM
DUBLIN, Calif. (KGO) -- Cal-OSHA is looking at other speed slides in California water parks to compare them with the Emerald Plunge in Dublin where a boy was injured Saturday.

The park was closed Tuesday, but investigators were drilling into the angle of the green slide better known as The Emerald Plunge. Cal-OSHA says many speed slides in California have 30-degree drops. The Emerald Plunge is pretty extreme with an 80-degree drop.

On the park's opening day Friday, a 10-year-old boy fell off of the Emerald Slide. He was checked out at the hospital and is OK.

On Saturday, a 10-year-old boy careened out of the bottom trough of The Emerald Plunge slide during the grand opening of the waterpark.

The day before, Cal-OSHA gave the green light and issued a permit for the ride after they said the water park, owned by the city of Dublin, corrected a long list of issues noted in an April inspection-- including loose bolts at the base.

They're zeroing in on what they say appeared to be pooling or puddling of water in the trough at the bottom.

"Because that may have contributed to the accident, that's one of the things they're looking very very closely at," said Erika Monterroza, a spokesperson for Cal-OSHA.

"I have asked if there are other slides like this one at other parks in California. I am waiting for a response," said Monterroza.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Cal-OSHA said they are actively pulling records for each and every speed slide across the state with similar angles and heights.

The manufacturer of the slide and many others, White Water West issued the following statement: "We are thankful the 10-year-old involved in the incident walked away without any serious injury."

They said they are working closely with officials at Dublin's Waterpark, where both of the high-speed slides are closed down during the investigation.

Thousands enjoyed the new park over the weekend. It will reopen on Saturday.




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Boy flies off slide at Dublin water park on opening day




A 10-year-old boy was thrown from a water park slide on the water park's opening day in Dublin Saturday. (KGO)

by Leslie Brinkley
Saturday, May 27, 2017 03:48PM
DUBLIN, Calif. (KGO) -- A 10-year-old boy from San Francisco was taken to the hospital as a precaution after he slid off a waterslide at a new Dublin waterpark Saturday. He was treated for scrapes and then released.

The boy went down a new three story slide called the Emerald plunge. As he came down and got to the bottom of the slide he flew up and over the edge and rolled onto the concrete. That slide is now closed as is the blue slide next to it. They both have steep 80-degree drops.

This was the very first day this city owned water park was open. It's called "The Wave" and cost $43 million to build. Hundreds of other people stayed at the park Saturday afternoon, most of them unaware of the accident. They enjoyed the other four slides and the pools. The assistant city manager witnessed it all. "I was standing there. He seem to be shook but seemed to be OK. He immediately got up and went into the first aid room. He was assessed by staff and his parents were here," Linda Smith said.

The city of Dublin says the slides went through extensive testing and were just permitted yesterday. The manufacturer was on site Saturday, and will see if they need to add a weight requirement or adjust the pressure or flow of the water on the slide.