Single-pass
Definition
A splash pad water system that uses fresh municipal tap water once and drains it to a sewer, with no on-site treatment or reuse.
Single-pass is the simplest splash pad design. There is no recirculation tank, no on-site chemistry — water comes from the city main and goes straight to the sewer after spraying. Sanitarily, it is the safest option because contaminated water is never reused.
The downside is water consumption. A single-pass splash pad can use 1,000+ gallons per hour. Drought-prone states are phasing out new single-pass builds.