Texas Wavegarden Closed Indefinitely!

NLand Surf Park shuts for repairs one month after swinging open its doors.

Do you remember when, just one month after it opened in 2015, the Wavegarden in Wales had to be closed for “urgent repairs?” The Surf Snowdonia tank was closed ’cause of a ripped pool lining and, perhaps, a re-think of its economic viability when sixty casual workers and eight full-timers were sacked. 

In a mirror of the only other commercially operating Wavegarden, NLand Surf Park in Texas has been shut down almost exactly one month after loosing the plough that creates the rippable little swells.

A bummer since nearly every session y’tried to squeeze into had booked out, making a mockery of the naysayers who said they wouldn’t be able to find chumps willing to spend ninety bucks on a ten-wave session. For some visitors, the experience was… divine! 

As our pals at KXAN report:

Neighbors of a new surf park outside Austin say the park is making waves next door, spilling water into their neighborhood. On Monday, the park said they were closing for a week after finding damage under the lagoon. The park, which opened Oct. 7, said they would drain the lagoon and then make repairs.

The Austin Watershed Protection Department confirmed a release of water from the park spread onto nearby property.

“The Watershed Protection Department Spills Team investigated the site and found a discharge of clear water from the park, but they did not find any indication that the water was polluted or chlorinated,” wrote Scott Prinsen, a spokesperson for the watershed protection department. “The department can only enforce water quality issues at the site.”

“It was full of water, I couldn’t even walk through here,” said Patricia Garcia, referring to her driveway.

Garcia wants to make sure this doesn’t happened again and says it has happened before. NLand Surf Park also confirmed that it drained its lagoon Monday and the water ran off of its property.

“[The city] let us know about this and we immediately addressed the issue. We take every opportunity to be good neighbors,” wrote NLand spokesperson Chris Jones in an email to KXAN News.

And, in a poetic response from the pool:

President Theodore Roosevelt famously wrote, “Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means, effort, pain, difficulty . . . .” President Roosevelt, how prophetic you were, especially when it comes building North America’s first surf park.

The liner in our reef section has been compromised more so than expected by fin and nose cuts and we need to do more extensive repairs. Therefore, we will be closed through November and potentially beyond. If we open, we will personally rebook you.

The line, “If we open…” is a little haunting, don’t you think?