BBC swimming pool undergoing repair

Image by Your Mildura, courtesy of Creative Commons

Alexi C. Cardona/Staff Writer

A pipe leak at the BBC Aquatic Center shut down the Olympic-size swimming pool late last month and there is no anticipated completion date for the repairs.

A to Z Statewide Plumbing, a full-service contracting company, is working on fixing the leak and reopening the pool as soon as possible.

Christina Reddick, assistant director for Campus Recreation, believes ground shifting caused the pipe to leak because it is the first time this particular pipe has given them trouble.

Reddick said Campus Recreation recognized the leak by keeping a close eye on their city water bills. The Recreation Center noticed an unexpected increase in the price of the November and December water bills and began investigating the problem from there.

This recent repair comes 5 years after an $800,000 renovation that took two years to complete. The Student Government Association footed the bill for the 2007-2009 renovation but Biscayne Bay Campus Recreation will have to pay the cost of this repair on its own.

Reddick does not know how much this repair will cost and the plumbing company could not be reached for an estimate of the cost or the exact nature of the leak.

Richard Azimov, vice president of Student Government, said that Campus Recreation did not request funds from SGA for this particular repair. Reddick said they would love for SGA to help pay for the repair but that requesting funds requires a lengthy process that Campus Recreation did not want to take on.

“We have a sense of urgency to reopen the facility for the students,” said Reddick.

The Aquatic Center does not receive any money from student athletic fees. They operate on Activity and Service fees, which are the fees Student Government collects to fund different activities on campus.

Paying for the repair will impact Campus Recreation’s budget greatly.

“We will need to make cuts to programming and possibly operational hours to make up for maintenance costs,” said Reddick.

The department will not only have to pay for the repair, but for refilling the pool, which could cost up to $10,000, and to replace the chemicals to be able to restart the pool system.

If the department falls short on funds, they will have to generate revenue by renting the pool for swim meets and hosting other colleges’ training sessions during winter break. They also offer swimming lessons for children and adults during the spring and summer months.

 

-bbc@fiusm.com