Pool reopened following heat sensor failure
The pool in the Joseph M. Linsey Sports Center was closed Friday evening after University Police received a report of a person "not feeling well" after swimming in the pool, according to a Feb. 3 police log entry. The entry states that the on-scene officers deemed the temperature of the water "too hot."
According to Associate Vice President for Facilities Services Peter Shields in an phone interview with the Justice, a failed sensor on the Dectron unit caused the water temperature to rise to about 95 degrees Fahrenheit. The machine, which controls dehumidification and pool water temperature, is used to keep the heat of the pool and natatorium between 80 and 82 degrees. Shields said that at 95 degrees, the pool water would not have been hot, but rather comparable to a "warm bath."
In an email to the Justice, Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan wrote that the pool life guards contacted the police dispatcher about the condition of the person, who is a graduate student. BEMCo and University Police responded and the student signed a refusal for further medical care.
Shields said that the Athletics department and the life guards determined that the safest decision was to close to the pool for the remainder of the evening.
Shields said that the Office of Facilities Services had been monitoring the pool's function all week and that they had noticed some "volatility" with the temperature control. Contractors worked to restore the pool's target temperature over the weekend and yesterday.
According to Shields, the pool was re-opened yesterday morning, and since then, there have not been other problems. Shields also said that there have been no other reports about health concerns relating to the pool.
The incident follows the pool's reopening Jan. 21 after over three years of disrepair. The pool was closed in fall 2008 after mechanical and infrastructural issues such as broken heating and electrical systems and repairs were delayed due to financial constraints.
Last spring, the Board of Trustees approved a $3.5 million plan to renovate the pool.
Updates included repairs to the mechanical, heating and electrical systems; newly renovated team locker rooms; new lighting and a newly renovated lobby and entranceway.
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