On August 22nd, the WRC pool heater shut down and began to leak. In an effort to keep the pool open, the maintenance and aquatics staff monitored the temperature hourly. We were happy to see some of our patrons brave the chillier-than-normal water temperatures - and some even said they preferred it!
Despite our team's best efforts to get the pool back to normal operations, the circulation pump began to leak shortly after. Once the parts to fix the heater arrived, the pool was closed to complete maintenance on the heater and to get the circulation pump up and running. Further inspection of pool pump parts led to the discovery of additional repairs that needed to be made on equipment that was not in stock with our suppliers.
Knowing that we were at a standstill waiting for parts to be delivered, EPRD decided to close the pool down, drain it, and begin a long list of necessary repairs.
POOL AND POOL ROOM
Power wash pool deck, gutters, and equipment
Power wash inside the pool
Sand, scrape, and wash scale from gutters and tiles above
Spray 14 gallons of acid to the inside of the pool to remove stains and brighten the tile
Power wash to remove acid and flush copper flow lines and inlets
Repair inlets as needed and install new stainless hold-down screws
Replace missing tiles and remove and replace broken tiles
Apply 180 pounds of grout to the walls and bottom of the pool to replace missing grout
Grout between gutter and pool walls so gutters can function as intended
Wash all stainless handrails of acid mist and protect them from rust
Inspect the diving board and re-torque base bolts
POOL MECHANICAL ROOM
Remove the old one and install the new heat exchanger in the boiler
Remove both pumps and volutes
Pump out the remaining water in the surge pit
Shovel and remove 7 pails of debris and pool finds
Do minor repairs to the wooden divider in the surge pit
Paint railings around surge pit safety yellow
Clean drain pit
Remove filter and grid assemblies from DE pit
Power wash filters and soak in sodium triphosphate
Acid wash, power wash, and apply 2 coats of epoxy to DE pit
Cut and install new connecting hoses and clamps for grids
Install new grids and filters in DE pit
Paint stair edges "safety" colored yellow and sand and paint the railing at the stairs
Clean UV housing and protect from rust
Totally clean mechanical room and power wash rugs
Rinse old filters, soak in mild acid, rinse and put in storage
Install lift pump, new motor-volute-impeller-seals
Install circulation pump, new impeller, and seals
Once all of these tasks were complete, we began to refill the pool on September 27th and it was ready to reopen on October 10th. A huge thank you to Bob Kellog, Mike Carpenter, Jenny Bolduc, Kevin Sullivan, and Marilyn Krause for all of their hard work in getting WRC pool up and running again! For more information on aquatics, please click here.