TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – The splash pad at Savage Park was not open this year because it did not comply with a state regulation.
Makenna’s Law, which went into effect in Ohio in April 2023, states that water pressure cannot harm any customer and that the flow rate through a nozzle cannot exceed twenty feet per second.
Makenna, who was seven at the time, was attending a birthday party when she was seriously injured by a wading pool in the Cincinnati area. The incident occurred in 2019.
Makenna’s mother, Kim Manion, said her daughter was playing with friends and standing over one of the water features.
“They found a four-centimeter laceration in her vaginal wall,” Manion said.
Makenna underwent emergency surgery by a pediatric obstetrician-gynecologist for more than two hours. Manion said she was in a lot of pain and there was a lot of blood.
Manion said she reached out to state officials and saw the need for the legislation. She said Ohio is the second state, along with Florida, to have a statewide regulation like this.
Manion noted that children stand over items, sit on them, put their faces in the water and if the pressure is high, it could seriously injure someone.
“It’s bad enough that my daughter is suffering from this,” she said. “I didn’t want anyone else’s child to go through that.”
The bill passed the Ohio Legislature in late 2022 with near unanimous support.
As for the splash pad at Savage Park, while community members want it open, some tell 13 Action News they want it to be done safely.
“I think as long as we do everything right the first time and everything is set in stone, we don’t have to worry about any other issues,” said Sean Waugh, a boxer at Central City Boxing, located just above the splash pad.
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