Now that the Washington Steele Family Aquatic Center has closed for the season, the Washington Parks and Recreation Department is seeking to repair the 21-year-old pool.

Parks Superintendent Nick Pacha explained the facility issue to the Washington City Council Tuesday, “Basically we’ve been seeing water loss the last couple years and been keeping track and closer eye on the numbers and we’re at about 35,000 gallons a day. We’ve tried shutting off different features and valves throughout the pool season to try to isolate and figure out where this potential leak can be.”

Pacha says they were unable to find the culprit, so they brought in their chemical and repair supplier ACCO to dive the pool a few weeks ago. Several spots in the concrete basin cut/expansion joints were sucking dye very quickly, which ACCO confirmed could be the main cause of the leak. Pacha presented dollar estimates for ACCO to repair the 12-inch pipe link seal in the surge tank, tear out the existing caulk and repair, check the gutter system for cracks, and do pressure testing on some of the pipes to make sure there aren’t major leaks. The council approved moving forward with all of the proposed work items, estimated to cost up to $30,000.