In a race against time and the threat of rising groundwater, the construction company hired to build the new Calistoga pool was recently ordered to make certain repairs, and the city manager authorized to take emergency action to get the job done.

A source of pride for Calistoga, the newly finished community swimming pool and its related structures face the threat of serious damage from winter rains and the subsequent rise of groundwater if cracks that have developed in the pool aren’t repaired immediately and the pool refilled, according to a city staff report presented at Tuesday night’s Calistoga City Council meeting.

Because of the cracks that have formed in the shell of the pool, which currently stands empty, the Calistoga City Council Tuesday night unanimously declared an emergency situation exists, and authorized City Manager Jim McCann to take steps to see that the work gets done before winter rains begin.

Weather services are predicting a winter storm moving in over the next few days.

The pool’s builder, Page Construction, was hired to build the pool — for $3.7 million in September 2007. The pool opened in June 2009.

At the time of the pool’s opening, there were still some areas of construction that needed completion, and need to be finished to fulfill the terms of the contract, according to the staff report. Repairing any cracks that may have occurred in the pool are among those duties.

Builder Greg Babcock told city leaders “there are water pumps running 24/7” to prevent water from rising.

City engineer Jim Smith told the council that Babcock has repeatedly been urged to get the job done to avoid any severe damages to the pool and has failed to respond, an allegation Babcock denied.

Babcock told the council Tuesday he would get started immediately on completing the work.

According to Smith, the complete destruction of the pool could result if the pool remains empty while groundwater rises at the site during the rainy season. The damage would be caused by hydrostatic forces that would push on the pool shell, lifting it unevenly.

The city continues to hold $350,000 of Page Construction’s funds, allowed by public code, as a hedge against damages. Currently, groundwater levels are about 12-13 feet below ground level, and typically rise four to eight feet during winter periods, according to the city’s staff report.

Print this story   |   Email this story | Browse today's articles in this category: Previous | Next