What could have been a disaster for the Plain City Aquatic Center turned into a win-win situation for the community.
Village Administrator Nathan Cahall said an issue with the pool nearly caused officials to delay the opening of the Aquatic Center, if not for the help of the Washington Township Fire Department.
“We were looking down the barrel of the gun,” Cahall said.
He said village staff was in the process of filling the pool when they noticed something was wrong.
The pool should have been filled “and then some” on Monday morning, but “it was not there yet,” Cahall explained.
He said staff initially thought there was a leak somewhere in the pool.
While it was a solvable issue, Cahall said he was particularly concerned about the time it might require.
He said it would take “a couple days” to drain the pool, time to fix the leak depending on its severity and a few more days to refill the pool. Then, he said staff would have to balance the chemicals in the water before the pool could be inspected and approved by the Union County Health Department.
The process would rule out opening the pool during Memorial Day weekend, as planned.
Instead, Cahall said village staff began by reaching out to Pleasant Valley Fire District Chief Mark Kidd.
While Kidd was contacting local fire departments for assistance, Cahall said staff decided to reach out to others in the area to solicit their help.
With about three hours’ notice, Cahall said the Washington Township Fire Department agreed to send divers from their water rescue team to assist with the pool.
Cahall said divers discovered an issue at the drain at the bottom of the pool.
He explained that there are several actuator valves that are supposed to lock into place.
“It’s a very inexpensive mechanical component,” Cahall said.
As the pool was being filled, the weight of the water caused “one or two” valves to become unseated, which prevented the pool from filling completely.
Cahall said Washington Township’s divers were able to alleviate the jam and clear debris from under the seal of the valve. He said the repair did not require any new parts.
It only took divers approximately 10 minutes to fix an issue that would have taken staff days otherwise, Cahall said.
“Crisis averted,” he said during Monday’s council meeting.
After repairing the pool valve, Cahall said the water rescue team stayed at the pool to conduct training exercises.
He said the unexpected scenario actually benefitted the village and nearby safety services.
Cahall and Mayor Jody Carney said they are working to pass their gratitude for the fire department’s assistance to the Washington Township trustees. He said he hopes they can be formally recognized at an upcoming meeting.
Thanks to their help, Cahall said the Aquatic Center is slated to open as planned on Saturday.
He noted that the health department employees are completing their inspections this week and “everything looks good.”
“We’re happy to open up… with hopefully a more normal operation than last year,” Cahall said in reference to loosened public health orders.