Members and friends of the Dawson County Rotary Club are bringing the county its first splash and play water park.

Opening ceremonies will be held Thursday, Aug. 28, at 6 p.m. at Rock Creek Park. The park will be open to the public immediately following the ceremony.

This is our gift to the community, Scott Yochum, president of the local club, said. We hold a lot of fundraisers like our annual golf tournament where people give a lot. This is our way to give back.

The parks hours will be: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days per week.

Its really for kids of all ages in Dawson County, Yochum said. Families can have a picnic in the pavilion and theres an interactive splash park with five or six water devices.

The park is free to the public.

The splash pad will cost the county $350 a year for insurance. All other costs are being covered by the Rotary Club. Etowah Water and Sewer Authority is donating the water for the splash pad.

Etowah Water and Sewer Authoritys General Manager Brooke Anderson and Rotarian Ken Grosch served as architects forthe project.

At the groundbreaking in July, Anderson described what the pad will look like:

The pad will be a 40-foot diameter circle with a patio surrounding it. It will have 11 different water features, sixjets on the ground and five above ground. It will operate with a button users can push to activate the jets. The features willbe stainless steel and painted with powder-coated paint. Everything about this park is going to be top-shelf stuff, Anderson said. Were trying to make this thing last, look good and function well for the kids.

Traditionally, the pad will close in early September. However, weather-permitting, Rotary plans to keep the pad open until the end of September.