Muddy water closes pools at Washington Park
Muddy water inundated the Washington Park pool after thunderstorms rolled through the area in June 2017.
Muddy water inundated the Washington Park baby pool after thunderstorms rolled through the area Friday afternoon.
Chris Marshman is used to muddy water coming into the Washington Park pool enclosure from a nearby access road.
So he was ready, putting down silt socks and bales of hay in an effort to stop the mud.
But, as he was getting ready to leave the pool after closing early because of the thunderstorms that moved through the area Friday afternoon, he saw muddy water come over a hill, down through a valley and into the baby pool.
“The muddy water just filtered across the sidewalk about 100 feet into the big pool,” said Marshman, foreman at Washington Park. “The water turned brown. It was horrible.”
Marshman said the last of the lifeguards had just left for the day when the muddy water inundated the pool.
“We have started draining the water from the pools,” Marshman said Saturday. “Hopefully, we will start cleaning the pools on Monday. The baby pool will be filled Tuesday and we will start to fill the big pool on Thursday.”
“We don’t know how thick the sludge is in the pools. Hopefully it won’t be too bad,” he added. “We’ll also clean the filters out.”
Marshman said it takes three days to fill the big pool and another day to put in the chemicals.
“We have to get the chemicals right before we can open,” Marshman said. “I’d like to be open before July 4th, but we’ll have to see how it goes.”
The lifeguards, who would normally be keeping an eye on swimmers, will instead be helping with the cleanup.
“I want to try and keep them working,” Marshman said. “For some of them, this is their only job for the summer.”
Councilwoman Tracie Graham also said it is unclear how quickly the pool can be reopened. She said a birthday party that was planned for a boy today had to be canceled.
Graham said there is also a water main break in the road outside of the entrance to the pool. A crew from Pennsylvania American Water was working on the break Saturday afternoon.