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Community members tour Walton Aquatic Center Monday evening, encouraged to take online survey
The City of Nevada held an open house Monday evening for community members to take a tour of the Walton Aquatic Center and hear about the issues the facility has been facing, as well as have their questions answered. Nevada City Manager Mark Mitchell and Nevada Parks and Recreation Manager Richard Brockman were both on-hand to give tours of the pool and answer questions.
On the tour, it was noted that a conditions assessment was previously completed of the current facility in November 2022 and presented to the city council. The current phase seeks to illicit community feedback through an online survey and develop concept options that fit community and operational goals. The tour of the pool was also a part of this phase.
The final phase of the aquatic study will include delivering the final report, presentation, and recommendations for Walton Aquatic Center.
The Walton Aquatic Center was originally built in 1978 and renovated in 2004. In 2021, the pool was shut down early for the swim season and has continued to remain closed. In 2022, Waters Edge Aquatic Design inspected the condition of the facility based on the 2004 renovated designs.
The findings of this inspection concluded that the center's condition is typical for a facility of its age, with areas of the facility being in good to fair condition (including the bathhouse and main pool basin structure).
One of the biggest issues with the facility is water loss. During operations, it was observed that approximately 400,000 gallons of water was lost per month through leaks in the systems. Over the duration of a typical season, that is approximately 1.2 million gallons of water loss. Waters Edge Aquatic Designs noted that "this is excessive and requires immediate attention."
In addition to the water loss issue, the spray pad is also non-operable; the filter media/sand are past expected life; and there are various ages of of concrete used in the pool structure (circa 1978 and 2004).
During the tour, Mitchell noted that the city is wanting to hear back from the community on whether they would rather have the issues fixed (at a cost of approximately $2 million that would take two years to complete with an expected lifespan of 10 years); have a new pool built at a cost of approximately $10 million (with a lifespan of 50 years); or some other alternative, such as a splash pad.
Community members are being encouraged to complete the online survey to help in the current phase of the pool study. The survey can be completed at https://watersedge.mysocialpinpoint.com/nevada-pool-study/.