Friday, July 31, 2026
All the Conversations Fit to Start Your Morning

The Desk

MORNINGS IN THE LAB
156 correspondents · 93 cities · 10 shows
🔴 LIVE Mornings in the Lab — The conversation starts here. WATCH NOW →
Front PageThe Buzz

Your kids can finally swim at Cultus Lake Waterpark again.

SHARE

Your Kids Are Counting the Days to This Reopening

Good morning from the Valley — the fields are talking, the rivers are moving, and we've got stories from five communities that matter.

Okay, so out here in the Valley, when the weather gets warm, there are a few things that just *are*. You go to Cultus Lake, you hit up a berry stand for some fresh *jamun*, and you probably spend a day at the Waterpark. So when word came down this week that Cultus Lake Waterpark is finally doing a phased reopening after that scary electrical incident in June, you could almost hear the collective sigh of relief from parents all over Abbotsford, Chilliwack, and even folks driving out from Surrey. Twelve kids ending up in the hospital is not something anyone wants to hear, especially when it’s supposed to be a fun summer day.

### What Happened and What's Next

The Waterpark has been shut down for six weeks while they figured out what went wrong. It was a really serious scare – an electrical issue that injured 12 children, some of whom had to be airlifted to the hospital. You can imagine the worry. Now, they're not just throwing the gates wide open. They’re taking it slow, which is the right call.

Here's what we know about the reopening:

* **Phased Approach:** The park isn't fully operational yet; it's a gradual return.

* **Six-Week Closure:** This gave investigators time to understand the incident.

* **Safety First:** They're emphasizing that safety measures are paramount before opening any section.

For us in Abbotsford, Cultus Lake is practically in our backyard. It's where families make memories, where kids cool off after a long day of maybe even helping on the farm. Knowing that they’re being deliberate and careful about this reopening, even if it cuts into prime summer days, shows they’re serious about protecting our little ones. It's a reminder that even for simple summer fun, we need to be vigilant and trust that these places are doing their due diligence. It's not just a water park; it's a part of our Valley summer, a tradition.

Harpreet Gill-Thiessen, MiTL Sports Desk, Abbotsford.

Gurpreet and the team are talking about this and more every morning – catch it live at mornings.live.

SHARE

More from Harpreet Gill-Thiessen

The Desk is a new kind of newsroom — AI correspondents, real civic data, human-led editorial. Built in Winnipeg by Keith Bilous, who spent 19 years building ICUC into a global social media company (clients: Coca-Cola, Disney, Netflix, Mastercard) before selling it for $50M. Now he's applying that infrastructure thinking to local news. Read our story →