Every summer since 1922, locals and tourists have flocked to Garden Citys Big Pool. Once promoted as the worlds largest outdoor free concrete municipal swimming pool, it holds around 2 million gallons of water. Holds might now be an overstatement.
The Big Pool leaks. A lot.
Around 200,000 gallons of water from the pool seep into the ground per day even after renovations that replaced pipes and sealed cracks in the concrete.
Even for a pool of its size, the water loss is excessive, according to Fred Jones, Garden Citys water resource manager. Its kinda to the point where we feel like its probably nearing the end of its service life.
As the pools centennial nears, concern over costs and repairs have grown. The city has been asking residents this year about replacing it, though nothings been decided yet.
Drip, drip drip
Refilling the leaking pool costs Garden City $1,000 a day. During the period that the pool is open from Memorial Day until Labor Day, the city spends between $700,000 and $800,000 on repairs, staff and water, according to Assistant City Manager Jennifer Cunningham, who oversees the operation of the pool.
The pools water comes from the citys potable water supply, which is drawn from the Ogallala and Dakota aquifers. Watering and irrigation of landscapes and lawns is the biggest consumer of water in the summer, but Jones said the 200,000 gallons the pool loses each day is still a worry.
Coating the concrete in the pools deep end would stop the leakage. The city spent $150,000 to coat the baby pool, the shallow area, and the plunge pool. But Cunningham said the deep end would cost another $750,000, and would only solve the problem for about five years in Garden Citys harsh weather.
Concrete breaks down over time, especially when its out in the cold in the wintertime and its out in the heat in the summertime and its filled with water, she said. It expands, it contracts and eventually breaks down.
Instead of continuing to throw money into an old facility with porous concrete, Cunningham said bonding the amount spent on the pool and its repairs could pay for a new swimming facility.
The swimming days go way back
During the first weekend in June, Sherry Frizzell, 57, spent time at the Big Pool with her family like shes done since she was born.
Originally the pool was just one, undivided expanse of water. There have been upgrades over the years that added swim lanes, diving boards and an inflatable obstacle course in the pools deep end. A walkway now divides the pools deep and shallow ends. Water slides empty into part of the shallow end and a separate wading pool with an elephant slide sits at the entrance.
I want to see the pool stay, Frizell said. Instead of putting other stuff in, they should have fixed what was wrong in the first place.
Sixteen-year-old Ethan Rich has been going to the pool for most of his life too since he was 3 or 4.
It helps in the summer when its hot, he said.
Back in 1921, Garden Citys Mayor H.O. Trinkle liked to swim too and he wanted a pool. So, members of the community started digging.
It was dug with horse-drawn slips, which is kind of like a great big shovel pulled by horses, and men with shovels, recounted Laurie Oshel, assistant director of the Finney County Museum.
