But after a recent collapse at a Big Splash ride, state officials may require it for water slides.

Unlike thrill rides at carnivals and amusement parks, the structural integrity of water slides -- which can reach heights up to six stories -- is not inspected by state officials.

But after part of a slide collapsed at a Tulsa water park on June 8, Oklahoma Department of Health officials say they are considering bringing water-slide inspection under state control, said Ted Evans, chief of consumer health services at the Health Department.

The Master Blaster "water roller coaster" at Big Splash water park had passed a yearly inspection by a private engineering firm just one week before it broke with an 11-year-old girl on it, according to the park's management.

For most amusement rides in the state, the Oklahoma Department of Labor is in charge of safety inspections, said Tom Monroe, the department's director of safety standards, but under state law, water parks fall into the jurisdiction of the Health Department.

According to state law, which defines public places with swimming pools as "public bathing places," "the State Commissioner of Health shall have supervision of sanitation, healthfulness, safety, and design of public bathing places, and shall enforce all rules and regulations promulgated and adopted by the State Board of Health."

The Health Department monitors water safety at the parks, but regulations regarding the inspection of structural soundness of water slides is not included in the Health Department's rules, Evans said.

Three to four years ago, the Health Department considered passing the responsibility for inspecting water park rides to the Department of Labor, but the deal never went through, Monroe said.

Currently, "it's out in limbo, I guess," he said. "If no one is doing it, it needs to be done. It's kind of one of those things that fell between the cracks."

Evans said rules governing the Department of Health's inspections of water parks were formed in the 1980s. Large water slides became popular in Oklahoma in the 1990s, and the feeling in the Health Department was that the structural integrity of water slides was not covered by its rules.

"In the rules, we have very little to address ongoing maintenance of slide structures," Evans said.

During the past year -- well before the accident at Big Splash -- the state Health Department had been considering changing department rules to include inspection of water slides' structural integrity, he said.

"We're taking a real hard look at the rules and law we're operating under," Evans said. "The rules probably need to be updated to encompass slide structures. We're working on rules that may help address this. It's kind of been in a gray area."

Without state inspections, water parks such as Tulsa's Big Splash and Oklahoma City's White Water Bay hire independent engineering companies to regularly inspect water slides, spokespeople with both parks said.

Big Splash owners Loretta and Jerry Murphy said their park is inspected annually by licensed safety inspectors from PLH Consulting of Lakeland, Fla.

Jerry Murphy advocated the state inspection of water park slides, saying they would increase safety at parks.

"Safety is our big concern," he said. "I think inspection (by the state) would be the best thing in the world. We bring in independent inspectors every year to do this, but I think it would be great if it fell under the state to inspect."

Inspections by the state in addition to private safety inspections would allow more eyes to look at the slides and provide a more thorough look at any possible safety issues, Murphy said.

World staff writer Kevin Canfield contributed to this story.

Clifton Adcock 581-8367
clifton.adcock@tulsaworld.com