Employees working to fix leak in Celina pool

Celina city employees this week began searching for a phantom leak in Bryson Pool that was responsible for the loss of thousands of gallons of water during the summer.

City officials discovered the problem earlier this summer as the water level in the filter pit of the pool kept decreasing, according to Celina Parks & Recreation Director Jeff Fortkamp. Instead of ending the swimming season early, officials waited until after Labor Day when the pool officially closed to find and fix the leak.

This week a suspect spot on the seam of the pool's stainless steel wall was found and is being looked at, Fortkamp said.

"We're in the process of draining that down to that level," Fortkamp said.

Celina city council members recently allocated $24,000 from unappropriated general fund money to the parks and recreation fund to fix the problem. In addition to fixing the leak, the money is needed to keep the pool and recreation fund out of the red.

Because of the water leak throughout the summer, the pool was losing between 8,000 and 10,000 gallons a day at one point, Safety Service Director Jeff Hazel said. No exact water amount loss from the 100,000-square-foot facility was ever determined, nor a dollar amount.

The parks and recreation fund is negative by approximately $6,800, and the pool and concession stand has a projected deficit of $10,000, according to Hazel.

While discussing the financial situation of the pool, Councilman June Scott reminded council that municipal pools are not intended to make money.