Safety part of bowl's design

The clover-leaf-shaped bowl that features in the extension to Wanaka's new skate park is designed to fill with water as the level of Lake Wanaka rises during floods.

In answer to a Wanaka resident's concerns about the safety of the bowl, a Queenstown Lakes District Council spokeswoman said the bowl design included a hydrostatic valve to allow water to ''move in and out''.

This would prevent the bowl being damaged by pressure from the rising water table and ''in the rare event of lake flooding, if the bowl fills with water, QLDC will put up temporary fencing to isolate the hazard'', the spokeswoman said.

A soak pit was being constructed to carry water away from the bowl.

Skate park builder Jason Parkes, of Premium Skate Park Designs Ltd, began work on the $344,000 two-part extension earlier this month and expects to be finished early next year.