The Georgia Department of Natural Resources retained Counsilman-Hunsaker in association with Pond & Company to conduct a facility audit of the historic pools in Warm Springs, Ga. American Indians once utilized the medicinal impact of the warm springs for hundreds of years. It was also used as a stagecoach stop during the 19th century. However, it was the late former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt who first gave national recognition to Warm Springs when, in 1924, he visited the town's naturally heated mineral springs as treatment for his polio related paralysis. The water comes from natural springs 3,800 feet below ground at nearby Pine Mountain and maintains a constant 88 degree temperature. The mineral-rich spring water provided relief and improved his polio weakened muscles, leading to world-renowned polio treatment for both children and adults.
Georgia State Parks refurbished a portion of the pools two decades ago, although they now remain mostly empty other than on special occasions. During the renovation, a small touch pool was added where visitors are welcome to feel the actual warm spring water.
The audit consisted of evaluating the existing pool structure, holding tanks, pool deck, and spring water introduction and overflow piping systems recommending treatment and costs to make the pools operational again for more frequent use. The intent is not to open the pools for public use, rather to enhance the experience of visitors and tourist visiting this historic site.