Chilly Swimming Pool Drives School District to Buy New Heater

After noticing consistent temperature dips in the district swimming pool, the Board decided to replace the heater in what officials called an "almost emergency" situation.

In doing so, the board also opted for an energy-efficient option which costs $26,000 but saves money in the long run, according to Director of Business Services Jim Froemming.

"One of the advantages of also doing the $26,000 … those parts and things are in stock, so replacement could take place in a 2-week period," Froemming said at Monday night's School Board meeting. That's compared to a 5-week period for a non-energy-efficient heater. The order was placed Tuesday morning.

District swim teams started practice on Aug. 6; the pool is also used throughout the summer for summer school lessons, open swim, lap swim and water aerobics, Froemming said. "In the past, we have also had groups rent out the pool for events such as Special Olympics, scuba diving certification and master swim events."

Typically the pool is between 81-83 degrees, but it had been falling steadily — sitting around 78 last week.

"Our goal is to keep the pool temp in a range from 81-83," Froemming said. "When a swim meet is scheduled, we try to allow the temperature of the pool to drop to 78-79 degrees for optimal competitive times.  The temp then goes back to the 81-83 degrees.

"(The new heater) should be better for two reasons," Froemming said in an e-mail to Patch. "It should be between 15 to 20 percent more energy efficient and the life of the heat exchanger will be longer and require less maintenance than a boiler type set-up."

The district pool is located at . The School Board also plans to meet in the coming months to discuss other energy saving projects.