Kendall Campus Pool Closed Due To Storm Damage
The recently renovated Kendall Campus pool is closed indefinitely after a storm caused damage to it and eventually led to it being littered with green scum and algae.
“On Dec. 5, a terrible storm that blew through Miami flooded the pool pump room at the Kendall Campus,” said Brian A. Stokes, Senior Director of Campus Administration at Kendall Campus. “As a result, the electrical panels that manage the chlorine in the pool became damaged.”
The 50-meter Olympic-size competition swimming pool was renovated last year. The five month project included $2 million worth of repairs and $150,000 of deferred maintenance for lights.
The facility contains 500,915 gallons of water with eight deep-water lanes and a sizeable shallow-water area. The 7-foot to 16-foot deep, dive training well contains up to 301,136 gallons of water. Both of these aquatic stations will be closed until reparations are made to the pump room.
“Due to the damage, we aren’t able to treat the pool,” said pool manager Jennifer Jones. “There were systems in place that malfunctioned due to the storm that broke it completely.”
Damaged items include the pump rooms’ new heaters and chillers, which maintain ideal water temperatures, as well as the filtration and chemical system managed by BECS controller.
“It will take several weeks to repair the damage,” Stokes said.
Students around campus are concerned with whether or not they will be able to enjoy the pool within the upcoming months.
“It was just fixed, we waited for so long and now it looks pretty gross,” said Robert Sosa, 19, a finance major at Kendall Campus. “A lot of the student body is upset because they might want to swim in it.”
Student Caleb Isenberg, 20, is concerned with the image of the College based on the aesthetics of the pool.
“A lot of prospective students come to MDC, so in a way it taints our image having algae in the pool,” said Isenberg, who is majoring in agricultural studies.
