Dry pool, dry soccer field at middle school — ah ha!

Swimming pools and soccer fields usually don’t have much in common, but the ones in the Port Washington-Saukville School District appear to share a water problem.

This relationship began to come into focus this spring when, despite heavy rain, water did not pool on the Jack and Shirli Flack Soccer Field at Thomas Jefferson Middle School as it has in the past, at times forcing the cancellation of games.

The field, which is home to Port Washington High School’s teams, is just to the west of the District Aquatic Center at the middle school, where the pool has been closed and drained since late March to fix leaks. 

Bingo! No water in the pool, no water on the field — one that may have gotten a bad rap over the years for having poor drainage. 

“We know at least part of the issues on the soccer field were due to leaks in the pool,” Director of Business Services Jim Froemming told the School Board’s Building and Grounds Committee Monday.

One of the most significant leaks discovered was in a pipe coming into the pool, which was spilling water into the ground before it was treated. That could explain why the water on the soccer field did not smell like chlorine. 

Officials now hope that one fix will remedy two problems, although repairs to the more-than-30-year-old pool have been tedious. Multiple leaks were identified during inspections and pressure testing, and it was discovered that some of the leaks washed away the sand foundation of the pool, creating voids and further weakening pipes, Froemming said. 

After the leaks are repaired, the foundation of the pool will be mud-jacked.

The district plans to have the work completed in early August in time for the Port High girls’ swimming team practices, although Froemming noted that contractors are busy in July and August repairing outdoor pools. 

“This has turned into a fairly significant task,” Supt. Michael Weber said. “The leaking was more significant than we first thought. Now we’re hoping to have the pool up and running for the girls’ swim team season.”

Froemming said the repair work will cost between $50,000 and $75,000, but there are other pool expenses on the horizon. The heating, ventilation and air condition system needs to be replaced, and that will cost between $500,000 and $600,000.