NewsLeak

A water leak was discovered in the Evanston High School swimming pool in Wyoming recently is causing nearly 5 gallons to seep out of the pool every day. Maintenance crews are working to locate the source of the leak and narrow down options and costs for fixing the pool. The crews tested the water and found it contains no chlorine or sewage, the Uinta County Herald reported.

While crews work to locate the leak, school administrators and the board will, under law, be forced to consider scaffolding the pool, as a safety precaution, if it were to be drained. Other maintenance issues would be addressed, including replacing damage to tiles and filtration system. The three options would be to scaffold the pool for $22,000, scaffold the floor with something like a basketball court, which would cost $63,000, or scaffolding with a more permanent floor at a cost of $94,000.

“The problems started with the pool itself,” said Ryan Thomas, superintendent of operations, the source reported. “No decision has been made.”

In other swimming pools news, Councilman Percy Hatfield's proposal to put a floating pool in the riverfront of Windsor, Ontario, was turned down by his fellow councillors. He thought the pool would boost tourism in the area with a type pool that has been installed in many European cities, CBC News Windsor reported.

The cafeteria of Enochs High School in Modesto, California, was filled with students, parents and faculty in support of the school installing a swimming pool. Enoch's girls' polo team held signs and rescheduled a meet to attend the meeting. School board members wanted to hear from the public on plans to build the $3.5 million pool, the Modesto Bee reported.

There were nearly 350 packed into the cafeteria. Parents were heard at the meeting talking about water safety and the inconvenience of having to drive their kids to another pool. Several said it costs nearly $1,000 a year to travel 4.4 miles down the road to drop their child off at the Johansen pool, and often their kids will have to stay up until midnight to finish homework and make up for lost time. In addition, the board heard from Mikayla Walker, the girls' varsity water polo coach, saying that in a few weeks their area at the Johansen pool will become even smaller when community water polo teams begin practicing, the source reported.

The board also heard from the opposition, taxpayers who said they have paid enough money and didn't need a pool. Enochs Principal Deb Rowe said paying taxes is nobody's favorite thing to do but the pool is needed and is worth it to her, as, the source reported, she waved her Village I tax bill in the air.

The meeting lasted for nearly an hour and a half as board members ended it by sharing their thoughts. The meeting was solely intended to hear out people's opinions, and no action has been taken since.

Modesto is not the only city with pool problems. Two of the five pools in Trenton, New Jersey, were closed early for the summer by city officials, after all five were opened late, because of city budgeting issues and safety concerns, the Trentonian reported.

Tony Mack, the mayor of Trenton, who also oversees the Department of Recreation, Natural Resources and Culture, ordered Hetzel Field pool be closed due to a foundation leak under the pool. He also closed Father Rocco Calhoun Street Pool to ensure the city doesn't go over its $96,000 swimming pools budget.

“In a meeting, council noted the pool shouldn’t have been opened at all,” Phyllis Holly-Ward, city council president, told the source. “We were more concerned about the safety of the residents of Trenton.”

The pools were originally scheduled to close on September 3.