Pool opening delayed, Mudcats season canceled
A motor issue at the Navasota Municipal Pool is causing a delayed opening and the cancellation of the Navasota Mudcats Swim Team season. The city is hopeful the pool will open the beginning of June.
“The City of Navasota is committed to making the pool a great experience for kids and community members and hopes to do everything possible to have the pool up and running before summer ends,” said Navasota City Manager Jason Weeks.
The City of Navasota maintains two swimming pools, one 50,000 gallons and the other 250,000 gallons. A press release issued by The City states the two pools are operated by three 7.5hp motors. City staff and maintenance crews began working on the pool in March to prepare the pool for use.
Preparation of the pools included: draining both pools, and cleaning prior to refilling with water. Once the pools were filled staff turned on the three pumps, but two of the three pumps had issues. One pump began smoking and the other made a loud noise possibly indicating something was broken. Staff ordered two replacement pump motors, but shipment of the motors was delayed due to the motor and motor parts shipping separately.
Staff added more water to the swimming pool, which caused the piping in the pool house to explode. Luckily, no major injuries occurred. Due to purchasing policies, staff had to secure three written quotes from vendors to repair the pool piping that exploded. This process took a couple of weeks for the three vendors to evaluate repair needs and provide estimates.
Staff determined it would be more cost-effective to replace all piping to prevent fur ther damages. Staff was able to secure supplies, while the contractor for the repairs had to secure the larger parts for this project. Brazos Valley Pool & Hot Tub began working on the project on April 21 and was able to complete the repairs on April 28.
The pool pump motor replacements were received April 4, but they were the wrong motors. They were sent back for a refund. Staff then reached out to a company in Brenham, Brenham Electrical Motor, that indicated they could try to repair the broken pumps. Staff delivered the motors on April 22. Staff was notified by the repair company in that there were no replacement motors available in the United States due to the motors being discontinued. Brenham Electrical Motor company quoted two months turnaround time to repair the motors due to staff shortages and workload. Last week, staff reached out to a company in Bryan, that indicated they could potentially repair the motors in the month of May.
Navasota Mudcats issued the following statement on their Facebook page, “Swim parents it is heartbreaking to inform you that we must cancel our 2022 NWAL Navasota Mudcat season. The city did not complete the necessary pool repairs in time for our swimmers to have a chance to adequately compete in our division. We are hoping to provide an unofficial season and one intrasquad meet. However, that depends on the repairs and feedback from the city. We will keep you as informed as possible and hope to be back for the 2023 summer. Again, NWAL will allow any swimmer from our team so register with College Station, Bryan, Huntsville, or Brenham.”
Weeks stated he is dedicated to working with city employees and other stakeholders to ensure operations in 2023 go smoothly.