The City of Roanoke in Texas, US will begin work on the US$10m (€7.3m, £6.2m) Hawaiian Falls Roanoke - the region's first publicly-owned water park.

When completed in May 2011, Sacramento-based water park operator Hawaiian Falls will lease the park from the City of Roanoke.

At the heart of the 10-acre Hawaiian Falls Roanoke will be Water World, one of the world’s largest aqua play structures.

The six-story interactive playground will have 20 slides, including a three-lane racer, a family raft ride and several body slides, 500-gallon and 1,000-gallon dump buckets, numerous interactive pulleys, wheels and water features.

Other attractions at the park will include a 16,000sq ft wavepool, a lazy river with rapids and geysers and a water walkway.

Roanoke's mayor, Carl Gierisch, Jr., said: "Hawaiian Falls will provide family fun and recreation for all of our residents. We are particularly excited to have a business partner like Hawaiian Falls that centers their business around those that we hold most dear to us."