EDITORIAL: Aquatic center successful in its first year

Posted 3/17/11

More than 25,000 swimmers have entered the water during the past 10 months, and more than 700 annual memberships have been sold — 70 percent more than were estimated when the city set the budget for this year.

Among those swimmers are, not only …

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EDITORIAL: Aquatic center successful in its first year

Posted

Ten months ago, the new Powell Aquatic Center opened to the public, and so far, it has been a success.

Almost any time one visits the pool, he will find people learning to swim, swimming for fitness, practicing for competition or simply having fun in the water.

More than 25,000 swimmers have entered the water during the past 10 months, and more than 700 annual memberships have been sold — 70 percent more than were estimated when the city set the budget for this year.

Among those swimmers are, not only those who make lap swimming a regular part of their fitness routine and USA and school swimmers preparing for competition, but many who might not have used the old pool, which was primarily a competition pool.

Families with young children are enjoying the zero-entry recreational pool, and adults, including senior citizens, have found that walking against the current in the continuous river feature provides a healthy, low impact workout.

There have been some problems with the facility, but that’s normal for any new building. We have reported on the failure of a pump that closed the recreational pool for a few days, and peeling surface in both pools has been an issue.

Most of those problems are covered by warranty, however, and the city will not sign off and take full possession of the pool until all the problems have been corrected.

The pool closed this week for regular maintenance, and will remain closed for about a month while the peeling surface is corrected. In addition, the pool will be improved with the installation of a system that uses ultraviolet light to disinfect the water. The new system will reduce the amount of chlorine needed to treat the water, making the water more pleasant.

The opening of the aquatic center last May was the end of a long and difficult campaign, full of controversy and with many bumps in the road, but in the light of the pool’s success, we believe the result was well worth the effort.

We anticipate that, with continued proper management and promotion, it will be an asset to Powell for many years.

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