Colfax swim pool gets D.O.E mandate

Colfax has received a mandate from the state Department of Ecology to stop the discharge of excess swimming pool water into the North Fork of the Palouse River. The request means the city will have to change the pool’s outlet and possibly correct the pool’s leaking problems to operate the swim pool next year.

The D.O.E. action was reported by Councilman Albert Vorderbrueggen at the Jan. 20 city council meeting. The leak was among topics discussed at the monthly park board meeting which preceded the Tuesday city council meeting.

Council members noted the swim pool is a big part of the Colfax summer season, and suggested work on a solution should get underway now to avoid a shutdown of the pool during the summer.

The pool for several years has operated with a loss of water which varies over the season. City Administrator Michael Rizzitiello said the pool’s design includes a relief drain which goes directly to the North Fork of the Palouse River channel which adjoins the north side of the pool.

The excess water, which is treated with chemicals, is the reason for the D.O.E. concern.

Rizzitiello noted Department of Ecology officials have been cracking down on possible contaminants going into the river which has shown an increase in water temperature.

The algae bloom episode in the river last August, which led to a backup of dead fish behind the start of the flood control channel entrance above the Sixth Street bridge, was attributed to water conditions in the channel combined with hot weather.

Vorderbrueggen Jan. 20 said city parks has budgeted $6,000 this year toward solving the pool leak problem and will start action soon to comply with the DOE mandate.

“We’ve been kicking the can around down there for years,” Vorderbrueggen commented on the pool leak problem.

Rizzitiello noted one solution could be to divert the water, which now drains directly into the river, into the city’s sewer treatment system which will send it through the treatment plant.

One big factor to consider is the age of the pool which is nearing the end of its life cycle. At some point the city will have to weigh funding extensive repair or rehab costs against a decision to undertake plans for replacing the pool, the city manager said.