The Wetland Groundwater Recharge Park is a $6 million project in Ocala, Florida. Rachel Slocumb from the city’s Water Resources Department describes, “One of the purposes is to have a place where the community can enjoy nature. It will be a nature oasis definitely unique to Ocala. There aren’t many wetland parks in Florida.”
In addition to an opportunity for the community to experience nature, the park’s purpose is to recharge the Floridian aquifer with treated water from the city’s wastewater plants. As a result, the 60-acre park improves water quality and creates an essential ecosystem. A significant feature of the project is the Pine Oaks Wetlands Boardwalk.
The City of Ocala specified a 1500-foot boardwalk with two viewing platforms composed of Wagners composite fiber. As the representatives at Wagners describes, “The City used WCFT as their choice of material to provide a long-life asset to the community that was chemically inert and resistant to the UV heavy and corrosive environment.” The composite fiber pultrusion was manufactured in Toowoomba and painted with A&I’s Vitreflon 700HB fluoropolymer coating.
As Ben Gilles of A&I Coatings explains, “Composite fiber technology was the ideal solution for this significant project as it does not rust, rot, or corrode, which provides substantial maintenance savings when compared to traditional building materials. When combined with A&I’s Vitreflon fluoropolymer coating, Wagners composite fiber structures have an expected lifespan in excess of 100 years.”
Gilles further describes that fluoropolymer-based paints offer unparalleled UV protection and serve as an excellent moisture barrier. In addition, the Vitreflon 700HB fluoropolymer coating employs Lumiflon FEVE resin which offers architectural surfaces a plethora of benefits, all of which ultimately help maintain the structural integrity of the coating system.
Substrates that feature FEVE resin technology are provided with longevity and durability in addition to excellent color and gloss retention, anti-corrosion, and graffiti properties, and superior weatherability, essentially protecting architectural coatings from UV radiation, water, salt, and other elemental deterrents that contribute to coating degradation.
Photography ©Ocala-News.com
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