Crystal opts to fix pool leaking 18,000 gallons a day

The Crystal Cove Aquatic Center has been a favorite place for north metro residents to cool off on hot summer days for more than half a century.

But over the past four years, it's taken a whole lot more water to keep the pool full.

"We've been watching water usage go up," said John Elholm, the city's recreation director. "You lose some to evaporation, especially when it's hot — but it was obvious, it was not just that."

An inspection found the concrete container installed when the pool opened in 1968 has been leaking, and the water loss — 18,000 gallons a day — has been so significant that city leaders were at a crossroads: repair the pool, or demolish it?

"That was the question posed to the public: Do we want to have a pool in Crystal?" Elholm said. "A pool costs a lot of money for a small city like Crystal."

A consultant in 2021 found most of the pool to be in "great" condition, including its filters, "but the main pool structure is at the end of its life," they wrote. Without replacing the container, the aquatic center would need to close, the report said.

The pool's annual budget for heat, maintenance and water is about $200,000, said city spokesman Mike Peterson. Revenue from season passes, concessions and swimming lessons covers the cost of 60 seasonal staff members.

The pool, at 4848 Douglas Drive, also serves communities beyond Crystal's borders. It's home to the New Hope Crystal Plymouth Swim Club, and more than 60% of people who take swimming lessons there are nonresidents.

So the city went to the state Legislature for help, and garnered $2.35 million for repairs through this year's bonding bill. The city will kick in $3 million to replace the leaking container in the main and oldest part of the pool, where lap swim lanes and diving board areas are located. The state and city money also will go toward new diving boards, slides, shade and maintenance, Elholm said.

Crystal last renovated the pool in 2005, when it added a zero-depth entry wading pool with a dripping tea cup water feature, a water walk in which swimmers are challenged to cross a series of floating pads, and a drop slide. At the time, the city also replaced part of the concrete liner, but there was not enough money to complete the work on the main section of the pool.

Immediately after the upgrades and additions, yearly attendance for open swim times soared to more than 44,000. Usage has since dropped to about 15,000 as the novelty wore off and the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

"A lot of people didn't want to get back in pools," Elholm said.

Elholm said the city will spend the next few months coming up with designs and determine whether it would be cost-effective and efficient to replace the container in the area under the slides, too.

The pool will remain open through Aug. 20, with any repairs set for 2024.