Ambrose Recreation District and Contra Costa County Open Recirculating Splash Pad and Shade Pavilion at Anuta Park in Bay Point

Park directors with the Ambrose Recreation and Park District and community development specialists from Contra Costa County cut the ribbon on Sunday afternoon on a 3,800-square-foot zero-depth recirculating water spray plaza, poured-in-place rubber safety decking, and four cantilevered UV shade canopies at John H. Anuta Park at 120 Willow Pass Road (at Clearland Drive) in the Bay Point-Pittsburg corridor of central Contra Costa County. Serving more than 28,000 Diablo Valley residents within walking distance of the Willow Pass Road commercial district, Anuta Park is one of Bay Point's primary neighborhood family gathering spaces.

Designed for toddlers, school-age children, and wheelchair users alike, the interactive spray ground features eighteen low-pressure stainless-steel water features—including rainbow misting hoops, spinning water domes, geyser jets flush with the blue-and-terracotta porous rubber deck, and a tactile palm-activated bollard that runs the water cycle in four-minute conservation intervals only when children are actively playing.

Beneath the adjacent mechanical vault, a high-efficiency cartridge filtration and ultraviolet (UV) disinfection loop captures and recycles 95 percent of spray water rather than discharging to the storm drain. Around the splash pad perimeter, crews installed four powder-coated steel shade structures, six accessible recycled-plastic picnic tables, a family changing restroom, and a chilled bottle-filling station.

The $510,000 Anuta Park splash plaza was funded through a California State Parks Per Capita grant and Contra Costa County Keller Canyon Mitigation funds. Seasonal spray-pad operating hours, group picnic table reservations, and East County youth recreation programs are posted on the Ambrose Recreation and Park District Portal.