Alameda High's Pools Likely to Open Late Next Week

Some Alameda aquatic athletes may be in the water by next week.

"Next Wednesday or Thursday Emma Hood should be open," Alameda Unified School District Board President Ron Mooney said today.

Representatives from the AUSD, the city of Alameda, together with the consultant hired to assess the pools' situation and develop a fix for them, met with Alameda County Health officials yesterday to work toward a plan of action.

"We had a two-hour meeting with the county," Mooney said. "Our consultant got them to agree that because of the way the drains are hooked up and the drains gravity feed into a tank that they're alright."

The consultant will be submitting his certified assessment of the situation to the county officials today, says Mooney, and the county has said they should be able to certify it by next Wednesday, allowing for Alameda High's Emma Hood Swim Center to reopen Thursday. 

The situation at the Encinal Swim Center, said Mooney, is somewhat trickier because the pools have a pump drainage system. "The consultant is going to propose a fix for them that will also be submitted to the county tomorrow," said Mooney.

If the plans for Encinal are approved, though, the work would still take several weeks. If the county does not accept the plans, then a more involved fix would likely take several months, said Mooney. 

The pools at both Alameda High and Encinal were abruptly shuttered on Oct. 15, for noncompliance with a state safety law requiring upgrades to all of the state's pool drains. The swimming community has been up in arms since.

Crowds of aquatic athletes expressed their frustration with the closure at a public meeting on Oct. 20, and the district's school board meeting on Oct. 26.

More on the history of the closures here, here and here.