Recently, swimmers, coaches, maintenance workers and administrators have noticed what they label as issues with cleanliness in the pool and problems in the natatorium. Some have expressed frustrations with leaks coming from the ceiling and a large amount of sand accumulating at the bottom of the pool.

The roof leaks into swim instructor Eric Kozak’s office and all around the pool. This is caused by prior roof damage from some heavy wind in the past.

“We are actually getting a new roof on the A building this spring, that will take care of any leaks,” Principal Andrew Neely said.

The other problem, the sand at the bottom of the pool, is not as easy of a fix. The sand is due to a problem with the filtration system.

“The pump filtration system is pretty old, and it uses sand as one of the materials that actually filters. The sand that you’re seeing at the bottom of the pool is coming through the filtration system. It’s essentially leaking,” Neely said.

The project is said to be a time consuming and extensive process. Students are in the pool everyday, and the swim team is still in their season, practicing six days a week.

“The maintenance department has been looking at repairs, so they’re trying to get a repair to the point where we can get through the rest of the school year. After that, it would be looking at a possible need to replace the filtration system and possibly the big pump as well because it’s old. They were part of the original when the A building was constructed back in ‘72. It’s been a number of years,” Neely said.

According to Neely and Kozak, it would be a large project that could have a significant cost. The repairs would most likely mean installing a whole new system because the system currently is outdated, so it is difficult to get parts.

Those directly affected by the pool have also noticed that there is something wrong. Swimmers and coaches often comment on the fact that there is a growing amount of sand at the bottom of the pool. Coaches have also complained and reported the issue.

“They’re [pool conditions] not good; there’s too much sand, the filter system needs to be fixed or replaced. It looks like we have an ocean at the bottom of our pool. It’s kind of embarrassing whenever you have other teams visiting and all that sand is in our pool,” head swim coach Nanette Cummings said.

Swimmers on the swim team also notice the build up of sand on the floor of the pool. The pool has had problems with it’s filter in the past and has been in need of renovations which interferes with practices and meets for the team.

“If the filter is not working right there’s going to be a lot of sand at the bottom of the pool which is not good for the swimmers,” freshman Charlie Kephart said.

Swimmers say they noticed the sand about a month or two ago.

“The one day at practice, the water in the gutter just wasn’t moving, and we all thought that might be a problem. Then the next day, it literally looked like somebody went to the beach and dumped sand into the pool. Now there’s just a bunch of gross sand at the bottom of the pool,” junior Kaylynn Manley said.

Swimmers call for a cleaner and a smoother operating pool.

“I don’t get why our pool is always broken, if there is a problem just fix it. And fix it in the off season, not in the middle of season,” Manley said.