Base pool closes, opens in 'miracle' time Published Jan. 8, 2009 By Senior Airman Daryl Knee 90th Missile Wing Public Affairs F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. -- With efforts from many organizations within Warren, the base Aquatic Center's pool received an important upgrade with only 10 days of downtime. As mandated by the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, an anti-entrapment drain safety device will be incorporated into all public pools and spas by the end of 2008. In other words, said 90th Civil Engineer Squadron's Ted Durante, the flat, grate-style drains at the bottom of some public pools present certain hazards to swimmers. The new drain cover, along with a pool's built-in precautions, should prevent most accidents caused by suction. While the drains are in the deeper end of Warren's pool, incidents have occurred elsewhere when a child has gotten stuck under the water from a drain near the wading side of a pool, said Gary Davis, 90th CES mechanical engineer. These slightly-raised safety covers should prevent those events from ever happening. However, to upgrade drain covers, the pool needs to be water free, Mr. Durante said. And, it's not as easy as just pulling a plug. Warren's pool holds nearly 150,000 gallons of water, Mr. Davis said. To be completely drained, the process takes about a day and a half. Once drained, the installation of the cover could proceed. Before filling the pool with water again, Mr. Durante said, inspectors from a local consulting agency have to ensure the cover adheres to safety standards. After passing the rigorous inspections, the pool can then be refilled, he said. To correctly fill the pool, members from Warren's bioenvironmental flight were called in to balance the pH levels, the acid or base concentration. Under careful monitoring, it takes about two and a half days to place the thousands of gallons of water back into the pool. Also, to make matters worse, the Act not only directed all public pools in the Air Force to install the correct covers, but the entire nation, Mr. Durante said. Very quickly, the item was becoming a sold-out commodity. "It's a miracle to pull this project together while competing with other agencies who are scrambling for the same work and products," said Bob Farwell, 90th CES Deputy Base Civil Engineer. "Engineering, contracting, utilities, bioenvironmental ... there were many players, all working together to bring the pool into compliance in 10 days in order to allow the youth of the base community use during the Christmas holiday and school break." "In miracle time," he said.