Cuesta College reopens pool after nearly month-long closure

Cuesta College’s small 60,000-gallon pool reopened Monday, nearly a month after being closed for emergency safety repairs to the pool lining.

The closure had caused the cancellation of 135 classes affecting 606 people, community college officials said in June.

The repair work cost $67,875, according to a proposal by Aquatics Renovations Systems.

The decision affected 125 swim lessons and 10 aqua fitness classes. All aqua fitness classes will resume on a drop-in basis starting Monday and will continue that way for the remainder of summer, according to a news release from Cuesta.

College officials hope to resume children’s swim lesson classes in the near future, which could not be held in the Cuesta’s 50-meter pool for safety reasons.

“Our Facilities Department worked very quickly to repair the pool so that we could get our patrons back in the water as soon as possible,” Matthew Green, community programs director, said in a news release.

In a previous interview, Cuesta spokeswoman Lauren Milbourne said the repairs were not related to some testing done in June on the pool deck to determine whether any pipes were leaking.

“The vinyl liner, which is already beyond its expected lifespan, split/cracked causing a hazard,” Milbourne wrote in an emailed response to questions. “The pool is still water-tight but is now unusable due to the damage to the liner.”

The pool had been scheduled for repair during winter break.

Milbourne said Monday that the safety repair work determined that the small pool is not and was not leaking. College officials had previously said that both pools — the 650,000-gallon lap pool and the training pool — were leaking about 13,000 gallons of water a day due to leaks, evaporation, and cleaning and maintenance.

A major repair job to the large pool is scheduled for this winter.

Registered aquatics program participants are being contacted by Cuesta College’s Community Programs with information on the pool reopening. Anyone with questions can call 546-3132.

This story was originally published July 13, 2015 at 10:13 AM with the headline "Cuesta College reopens pool after nearly month-long closure."