Future Of Aquatic Center Uncertain After Inspection Uncovers Major Issues Related To Water Loss

There’s uncertainty surrounding the immediate and long-term future of the Glenwood Aquatic Center as city officials digest the findings of an extensive investigation into the water loss issues that have plagued the facility since its opening in 2016.

According to findings of the investigation presented to city officials last week by mechanical engineer Jordan Wiegand, many of the ongoing water loss issues stem from the original construction of the aquatic center, most notably the type of fill dirt that was used around and under the pool.

“That is what he was implying – the root cause of all the water loss and leaking issues was going back to the design and construction,” said Glenwood City Administrator Mitch Kolf. “The biggest issue that they identified was the soil they used to fill in and the soil under the pool. The soil that’s in there is susceptible to freezing and frost and expanding in the winter. Because the soil that’s under the pool expands and contracts so much, it causes the pool to move a few inches every winter.”

Movement of the “pool vessel” during the winter months has resulted in broken pipes and fittings and ultimately water loss, according to Wiegand, an engineer with Wisconsin-based Burbach Aquatics, Inc., the firm contracted last summer by the city to conduct the inspection of the facility.

A geotechnical evaluation determined that two types of soil were used at the time of construction – lean clay fill below the pool slab to a depth of 4 feet and lean clay loess from 4 to 22 feet. A non-frost sensitive soil should have been used instead, city officials were told.

The investigation included dye testing, pipe pressure testing, concrete extraction, concrete sounding, ground penetrating radar investigation, structural design review and soil boring and testing.

Wiegand presented the following summary of the investigation to city council members:

* The forces on the pool floor resulting from frozen sub grade has caused the floor to rise as much as two inches per winter.

* The adverse floor movement and inadequate waterproofing and structural connection between the floor and concrete footings allows water to leak at high rates.

*  Water leakage at the floor joints is apparently eroding base material creating voids under the pool floor.

*  Pool structure movement has caused pipe breaks and leaks.

The investigation began at the conclusion of the 2024 swimming season, carried out by Burbach Aquatics, Eagle Engineering (the city’s engineering consultant) and three other contractors with expertise in specific areas of the inspection.

Multiple repairs, including some covered under warranty, have been made at the aquatic center over the past nine years. The facility was closed for the entire 2022 swimming season to fix broken fittings and joints, but the water loss situation continued to get worse, culminating in 2024. The pool requires 275 gallons of water to get filled, but last summer, because of leakage, over 1.4 million gallons of water was needed just to keep the aquatic center operating at minimum capacity.

Wiegand said the investigation was carried out with two objectives in mind – locate sources of the water loss and develop a comprehensive repair plan. While the investigation appears to have identified sources of the loss, the second objective will be difficult, if not impossible, for the city to accomplish because of the projected cost.

The recommended repair plan calls for a total overhaul and replacement of the pool, including the removal and replacement of up to 5 feet of existing soil under the pool and installation of a dewatering system.

The aquatic center was built at a cost of $5 million. Replacement would probably be twice the cost of original construction, according to Wiegand.

Glenwood Mayor Angie Winquist asked Wiegand how long the pool would be operational in its current state.

“If we did continue to use it,” she asked, “how many years would we be able to use it? What would happen at that point?”

Continuing to operate the aquatic center in its present condition is not recommended, Wiegand stressed.

“There would be catastrophic failure at some point,” he said. “That would pretty much render the pool vessel unusable.”

Responding to a question from council member Christina Duran, Wiegand said he doesn’t believe there are imminent safety concerns if the city decides to operate the facility this year in its current condition.

“I don’t think the footings that the slabs are on are affected, yet. We didn’t see any movement on them,” he said. “So, catastrophic failure would probably just happen to the pool floor.”

The situation puts the city is in a predicament. Kolf noted that $3.8 million in principal and interest is still owed on the pool and the debt isn’t scheduled to be retired until 2035. The city is using $360,000-$370,00 in Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) revenue annually to pay off the project.

Although the warranty for construction of the aquatic center has expired, the city council has instructed Kolf to explore its legal options in the matter.

“We’re looking into if we have a case against the contractor because it sounds like from this pool expert that the original design and the construction on the pool may have been faulty in the first place,” he said.

Omaha-based JEO Consulting served as the engineering consultant during construction of the aquatic center. Eriksen Construction of Blair, Neb., was the general contractor for the project.

Kolf said the city council will decide at its May 13 meeting if the pool will open in 2025.

“I don’t think we’re going to open the pool, but it’s up to the city council if they want to find a temporary solution," he said. "We’ve been waiting to sell aquatic center passes until we got this report and figured out what we needed to do  to address the problems from last year. It turns out the problems from last year are the worst-case scenario.”