MAPLEWOOD, NJ — South Orange-Maplewood Superintendent of Schools John Ramos Sr. sent the following letter, in part, to the Columbia High School community on Sept. 1:
“We are suspending the use of the Columbia High School pool, effective immediately. We cannot use the pool in its current state without compromising the safety of our students and staff.
“As you know, in 2013, (the South Orange-Maplewood School District) did a partial repair of the most egregious structural problems with the pool to gain a few extra years of life out of the space.
“This spring, we noticed excessive humidity in the pool area, and condensation on the underside of the pool itself. At the recommendation of our architectural consultants, EI Associates, we decided to do what is called ‘destructive testing’ to analyze what is happening within the structure, which is not externally visible. This work was conducted over the summer and included taking core samples from the pool walls and deck and analyzing the samples, as well as using ground-penetrating radar to assess the rebar for possible corrosion.
“In a meeting (on Sept. 1), EI Associates shared the testing results and indicated that the pool structure is not stable. They informed us that there is no way to predict when or if failure would happen, but that if failure does happen, it would be catastrophic if the pool is filled with water at the time, and even more so if there are any students or staff in the area.
“We have taken immediate action to protect the safety of our students and staff, ensure the swim team will be supported in the absence of our own pool space, and provide alternative programming to our freshmen who were scheduled to take swimming this year.”
According to the letter, the pool is currently empty of water and the district is restricting all access to the area.
As for students who are scheduled to use the pool, Athletics Director Larry Busichio is working to secure an alternate location at which the swim team can practice and host meets. Additionally, students scheduled for swimming in the first quarter will have a fitness course instead and students scheduled for swimming in the other three quarters will be scheduled into a different PE rotation, with the final decision on placement to be made after the district reviews available spaces and staffing.
“In the long term, the administration and the Board of Education need to decide the future of the current pool space,” Ramos wrote in the letter. “Once we determine our plan for this space, it will take a minimum of three years to either rebuild the pool or to convert the space to a different use. This includes time for design, obtaining requisite approvals, securing funding and construction. We will keep the community informed of the conversation as we move forward.”
Testing yielded the following results: The compressive strength of concrete was as low as 1,200 pounds per square inch, with current construction standards being at 5,000 psi. There was rebar degradation, in some places exceeding 50 percent. The waterproofing membrane had degraded to the point where it was of no value. The continued presence of water — which has been seeping through — with accompanying chlorine is aggressively attacking the structural foundation of the pool.