Maintenance issue could keep public pool closed for three more weeks
Published 8:23 am Wednesday, July 12, 2023
- Hannah Russell cleans the Natchez Adams County Public Pool with a pool skimmer. (Patrick Murphy, The Natchez Democrat)
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NATCHEZ — The Natchez Adams Aquatic Center will be closed longer than anticipated while waiting for pump replacement parts, Interim Parks and Recreation Director Ryan Porter said Tuesday.
On Saturday, it was announced that the pool would be closed because the main pump that filters dirty water and recirculates clean water back into the pool stopped working.
Pool managers estimated the replacement parts for the pump, which is still under warranty, would be available earlier this week and that the pool would reopen Thursday at the latest.
“That was assuming that all of the parts were on hand at the warranty center,” Porter said, adding that turned out not to be the case. Instead, the company had to order six different parts from different locations, which could take two to three more weeks for delivery.
Meanwhile, planned events at the pool will have to be postponed, and locals will have to find another way to cool off this summer because it is not safe to swim in the pool without a working pump, Porter said.
“We are discussing strategies moving forward to prevent this issue in the future,” Porter said, adding a free swim day in early August may help make up for the time lost at the pool.
Porter said managers are also considering rebuilding a secondary pump system so there is a backup if one should fail in the future.
“That would only put us out 24 hours versus two to three weeks,” he said.