The Cuyahoga Heights High School (CHHS) swimming pool is an L-shaped pool including six 25-meter lanes for competitive swimming and a 1-meter diving board for competitive diving. The pool also includes a shallow water area for swim instruction. The staff at CHHS noticed that a crack had developed in the pool's deep end wall and that the pool was losing a few inches of water loss per day. These observations prompted the school to seek a swimming pool audit. Counsilman-Hunsaker performed an audit of the swimming pool systems, and McComas/O'Donnell & Naccarato conducted an audit of the swimming pool structure.
The purpose of the swimming pool assessment was to identify items that were substandard in the pool, items not to current industry swimming pool design standards, or equipment not operating as designed; and to assist in defining a course of action regarding the future of the aquatic facility.
Additional cracks were found in the pool shell and tile finish beyond that observed by staff. Issues with various movement joints were noted as well. The audit report included recommendations for additional testing to verify the integrity of the pool structure and piping system. These include a water tightness test and a piping pressure test. A site elevation survey to verify the pool gutter remained level and the pool walls remained plumb. It was also recommended that ground penetrating radar be used to evaluate the condition of the soil beneath the pool, searching for voids or other indicators that the pool shell could be experiencing movement.
Additional recommendations were included regarding administrative codes or industry standards for items including the pool piping and mechanical systems, tile markings, and competitive swimming and diving equipment. Due to the age of the pool, many items that were originally designed to the industry standard are now out of date.
The report referenced three different administrative codes: Ohio Administrative Code – Chapter 3701-31 Swimming Pools, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), and the Model Aquatic Health Code (MAHC). Capital cost estimates for recommended repairs that will bring the pools up to current industry swimming pool design standards were provided in the report.
