It is not nonsense, and I did not say the water was intended as a ballast for Shockwave. I said the concrete on the Splash Canyon troughs, which are in turn connected to the footings which the rides do share act as a ballast. A couple of screenshots taken from a VHS video from the 1990s when the double project was hitting completion is irrelevant as it does not allow you to see the connected concrete anchoring underneath.
On the point about the water flowing through and why it's an issue; you are misunderstanding what I am saying, as this is nothing to do with building regulations or the original construction. The poster above does point out one observation which is actually correct and verified to be true; elaborating my own point for me, which is the time period that Shockwave has undergone since May 2017 without water flowing through its circuit and indeed the effect this has on the footings which had previously been held down with a similar level of weight since 1994. This combined with aging steel (particularly around the points of the track that I previously specified which undergo the highest lateral/vertical stresses), and the overall need for stronger footings are part of the reasons why the lack of water being present and flowing through the Splash Canyon circuit is now a recognized issue for Shockwave. It was not an issue in the past, or part of any calculations made in the design phase of the coaster. It was only raised in the last couple of years, which is most likely why you have not heard of it. Perhaps it should of been clarified in the original point that I was talking about Shockwave's current operation, though I did separate the two points if you read it carefully.
On the Chinese whisper point; I get that some of it sounds unusual. But both physics and engineering, especially in projects like these are often so. In terms of where I have obtained this information from, it would be wrong of me to say 'look at me I got information from xyz, look how knowledgeable I am', I've been wrong about many things and of course its great for us to learn stuff from each other. But on this issue (without saying where it comes from) my opinion is that the information is very reliable, and I am pretty sure it is one of the reasons why Shockwave's continued existence is being called in to question. Some may be aware that Shockwave received a new chain for its lift hill fairly recently, and a lot of information about the ride overall has emerged from then. The condition of the track itself is another very important factor obviously.
If Shockwave was removed, they'd just get rid of the track and supports. Splash Canyon, and all of the concrete footings that exist everywhere would not be physically removed as they do not have the time, money or effort to do this.
