After busting through the concrete and digging several feet down, officials with the Bridgeport Parks and Recreation Department didn’t find much but dry earth. Considering the area they were working around was the Bridgeport City Pool that would likely be considered a positive thing.

 

In this rare instance, it wasn’t.

 

Workers were hoping to find the source of a water leak that led to more than $1,000 in additional water costs last year due to a substantial amount of water being lost during the pool season. Once that area was ruled out as the source for a leak, Bridgeport Parks and Recreation Director Don Burton began to see if the leak could be coming from the pool itself.

 

“We contacted Quality Machine and they showed up this week to look at the pool,” said Burton.

 

Although weather wasn’t totally cooperative, efforts to get started early this past week allowed work to potentially fix the leak issue begin in earnest Wednesday. Workers with Quality Machine, including Christian Marsh, were checking potential problem areas and doing welding and other chores to see if they can fix the problem.

 

“Prior to the work (Wednesday) we walked the entire stainless steel pool from corner to corner. We were looking for any issues involving the stainless steel seams, particularly the corners, that we may have,” said Burton.

 

On Wednesday, those area were marked and addressed. Burton said he and his staff, along with staff of Quality Machine, were able to find some gaps and cracks in the seams.

 

“There is some concern involving the joints where everything is together and you’re looking at old welds. With pool built in 1985 you’ve had a lot of wear and tear, you’ve had chemicals and you’ve had decades of freeze thaw cycles that contribute to those issues,” said Burton. “Our biggest concern is the corners and that’s where most of the welding is occurring.”

 

Even with that work taking place, Burton said there’s no guarantee that the cracks and issues involving the seams are the culprit. However, he said what may be causing the problem are two pipes that were discovered that have some issues.

 

“One of the pipes is a drain line for the (pool) gutters to the main pool system and the other pie involves the intake that feeds the baby pool,” said Burton. “The caulking and sealant where the plastic of the pipe joins the stainless steel of the pool is corroded and deteriorating. We’re going to clean them up the best we can and get that back in order.”

 

So will that fix the problem?

“I’m not 100 percent sure that the things we’re addressing is the reason for the water loss, but at the same time it could be. Even if it’s not the reason, it’s something that needs to be addressed,” Burton said.

 

Burton said they’ll know if they’ve solved the problem once the pool is filled up. It’s usually done several days before the pool opening in order to get it operational and to also do training.

 

“We’ll know relatively soon after it’s filled if we’ve fixed it,” Burton said.

 

Regardless of whether it’s fixed, Burton said the pool will be open on schedule this year, barring weather issues or something of a major nature that is unlikely to come up. Opening day has been scheduled for Saturday, May 24 at noon. Admission is free that day.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows P&R Deputy Director Joe Shuttleworth, left, helping out with staff from Quality Machine, while QM's Christian Marsh does some repair work in the bottom photo.