Orono will close its municipal pool for renovations next week, forcing families to visit facilities in nearby towns if they want to stay cool in the summer heat.
The municipal pool, which is typically open to residents and non-residents seven days a week from mid-June to late August, will close on or about Tuesday, Aug. 1, for a gutter replacement project estimated to cost more than $110,000.
The pool is losing from 2,000 to 3,000 gallons of water per day through rotted seams in the gutter, Orono Parks and Recreation Director Meghan Mazzella said. The department has replenished water on a daily basis to keep the pool open to the public.
While closing the pool during the hottest time of the year is a bummer for local families, they will lose only a few weeks of swim time, and it’s an investment for the long term, Mazzella said. Doing it now gives the town time to fill and test the pool after repairs are completed — and before cold temperatures and frost hit, she said.
“This wasn’t like a leak that came up overnight,” Mazzella said, estimating the project will take about two to three months to finish. “We’ve known about this, and we’ve been on a waitlist to get this fixed for about two years.”
The Nickerson Pool, which is more than 50 years old, needs repairs that few contractors in New England can complete, she said. Mazzella could not find any record of such a project over the decades.
The project is likely the most costly and serious of the pool upgrades planned over the next few years. That includes new lifeguard stands and youth play area improvements in 2025, liner replacement in 2026 and updating the filtration system in 2027, according to the town’s capital facilities plan.
On average, 53 people per day visited the pool between June 19 and July 7, Mazzella said, noting attendance fluctuates, particularly this summer, which has had many overcast and rainy days.
On June 20, for example, 122 people visited the pool. On June 28, the count dropped to 16 people. When the pool provided free ice cream a few weeks ago, attendance was close to 150 people, Mazzella said.
“Yes, we have to close, and it’s a bummer, but this is a big undertaking,” she said. “Besides digging a new pool, this is the most invasive process we could do.”
At a meeting earlier this month, Orono’s Town Council approved an $87,750 contract with Fillion Associates Inc., a Rhode Island company that will install about 310 feet of pool gutter.
The town has budgeted another $23,000 for its public works crew to handle demolition, replace pipes and do other work, Town Manager Sophie Wilson said. It will involve renting machinery that the town does not own, and a vendor may need to be hired for plumbing work, she said.
The town’s American Rescue Plan Act funds will cover the project.
