Contact: Kay Fike Jones
Mississippi State University's swimming pool will open for the summer once again--albeit a little later than usual.
Laura Walling, director of recreational sports, said the 62-year-old Blumenfeld Pool was originally scheduled to close permanently last fall due to a number of physical problems.
"The primary problem is that the underground pipes leak and we lose more than 51,000 gallons of water a day," Walling explained. "To repair these leaky pipes would require us to dig up the entire pool and the cost was estimated at more than $1 million."
Although a new indoor pool is included in the Joe Frank Sanderson Center currently under construction, work won't be completed until the fall of 1998. Closing Blumenfeld would leave the university without a swimming pool for two summers, to the dismay of many pool patrons.
The university sought a solution and, eventually, a safe and economical one was found. Workers will cut holes in the wall of the pool next to the surge tank and let water flow into the tank to recirculate naturally, bypassing the drain system.
Walling said she hopes work is completed in time for the pool to open for the Memorial Day weekend (May 24-26), but emphasized that is still a tentative date. Previously, the pool opened in mid-April.
Seasonal passes for all university employees may be purchased for $50 for the first family member and $30 for each additional member. Non-university-affiliated swimmers will pay $140 for the first family member and $30 for each additional one.
The pool will end its summer season after Labor Day.
For more information, or to obtain a pass, call Recreational Sports at 325-7943 or 325-8963; or go by the lobby of McCarthy Gym.