Corroded Pipes Cause Pennsylvania Pool To Lose 165,000 Gallons Of Water

The Highlands High School in Pennsylvania found themselves in a interesting situation this summer after 165,000 gallons of water suddenly went missing from the pool. Although the district was able to find a solution for the major leak, the school’s swim team may be hung out to dry if the school is unable to find pool time for the first half of the season.

While another group was using the pool in July, a woman approached Athletic Director Chuck Debor to ask if they were back washing the pool because the water level in the pool had dropped. When Debor walked onto the deck, he was surprised to learn that the water level had dropped nearly 18 inches. Within 14 hours, all 165,000 gallons of water were drained from the 46 year-0ld pool.

The mystery of the situation is that nobody knew where all of the water was going. The school district’s buildings and grounds crew was unable to identify what was causing the problem so inspectors were called in. Although they were not able to identify what was causing the problem either, they did re-assure the district that there was no structural damage to the foundation of the building from the water. Finally, a leak detection company was called in to identify the cause of the leak. Using cameras, they were able to identify that entire sections of the drain pipes under the pool had corroded away and the water was naturally absorbed into the ground.

Although the problem was identified and can be fixed, the solution could be discouraging for the members of the Highlands swim team. The renovations could take up to nine weeks to be completed and may not start until mid October. This will cut into the first half of the High School season, which starts in November, leaving the team without a training pool.

Debor told Triblive.com that he will be reaching out to other area pools to find water time for the team.