For a water slide, 20 years is old.

Yucaipa Regional Park's two water slides are slated to be torn down and replaced with new ones that will be state-of-the-art.

And San Bernardino County officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the attractions will be finished by May.

"We're still hoping for Memorial Day weekend," said Thomas Potter, chief of the county's regional parks department. "It will be a little tight because you never know what's going to happen with the weather, but we're hoping to be ready by then."

Water slides and swim areas at the county's regional parks are open from Memorial Day throughLabor Day.

The Yucaipa slides' problem is old age, Potter said.

"They are the oldest ones we have in the county system," he said. "Because they are older we have to recaulk the seals (where pieces of the slides meet) every year."

Water-slide users need mats to avoid having a slightly bumpy ride down the 350-foot chutes, Potter said.

In addition, wooden pilings under the slides are showing their age.

"The old slides are held up by telephone-pole pillars, and with wood, after a certain period of time when it is exposed to the elements, starts to deteriorate," Potter said.

The new pillars will be made of concrete or another composite material that resists water damage, Potter said.

At its meeting today, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors is expected to approve a $43,500 demolition contract with Malone Construction of Riverside to take down the slides. Under terms of the contract, the company would have 45 days from the day it begins work to complete the razing.

The other bids submitted were from John Beck of Chino for $47,300 and WTA Construction of Cedar Glen for $57,900.

A $545,000 contract to build the new water slides was awarded by the board in November to Whitewater West Industries Ltd. of Columbus, Ohio.

About 24,500 people used the Yucaipa park slides in the county's fiscal year that ended June 30, 2000, Potter said. The park's swimming and sliding area brought in $164,000 during that period, Potter said.

The county operates eight regional parks and a wildlife preserve. Fiscal-year attendance for all the parks was 2.5 million, Potter said, with the Yucaipa park registering 475,300 visitors.

Rosalind Smith may be contacted at (909) 792-7247 or by e-mail at rrsmith@pe.com