The water filling the pools in Piedmont’s new community aquatic complex glistens alluringly in the mid-November sunshine.
The all-new facilities — changing rooms, outdoor showers, a lift assist compliant with the U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act, a grassy pavilion, ice cream and snacks counter, staff rooms, party rooms and more — are pristine. Behind the scenes, advanced technology hums, whirs, clicks, modulates and self-regulates during testing of the chemical treatment, pumping, filtration and heating systems.
For people eager to dive in — or walk in via the zero-depth entry at one end of the activity pool — the methodical pace of the project’s required commissioning (testing) process feels like slow torture. Even so, most community members seem to agree that reliability and safety must be the municipal pool’s priorities, a point emphasized in city reports and a YouTube project-update video featuring City Administrator Rosanna Bayon Moore.
Describing progress made and next steps to complete three required phases — the commissioning process, systems testing, and operations training — Moore notes near the end of the presentation (youtu.be/6D_xUO7vCC8?si=47bGBrUYvMlCcRlY) that “When Piedmont’s new pool opens, it’ll be among the first all-electric municipal pools in the country.”
The city has yet to provide a specific opening date but reports that work is moving steadily forward and that the project remains within its authorized funding. In an interview, city communications officer Echa Schneider says the opening is dependent on the commission process.
“As we reach key milestones, we’ll keep the community updated about the progress. We will let people know about the opening date as soon as we’re able.”
During the current phase, each of the four mechanical systems in the pool complex must pass isolated testing to ensure every component is fully functional. Testing of the chemical treatment, pumping and filtration systems has been completed. However, the heating system showed during testing that the actuator components needed to be replaced.
“Like anything bought or constructed, sometimes an element doesn’t work,” says Schneider. “Actuator components are essentially water mixing valves. They mix hot and cold water in the system, and three actuators were identified as inoperable during the testing process. It wasn’t unusual, but it took time as we determined if it was a faulty connection or not getting power or the mechanical parts that led to the issue.”
The heating system for several reasons is unique. Because the new pool is all-electric and hence not heated with natural gas, 20 heat pumps must be connected.
Schneider, echoing Moore’s “among the first” boast, states that “The only other city with a similar array is the city of Mountain View. They were the first all-electric municipal pool in the country. We are next and have been in close contact with them. The trend is going in this direction, with several pools in the Bay Area being designed for all-electric.”
An all-electric pool is meant to be environmentally sustainable, which was determined to be essential to Piedmont citizens even if it added time and money to the project, Schneider says. She said many people learned during the planning process that heating the previous pool was the city’s greatest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, with 75% of Piedmont’s municipal natural gas use historically coming from heating it.
“We take steps to ask community members to reduce emissions on their properties and businesses and needed to show the same commitment,” Schneider said of the city’s role. “It was important to choose all-electric to align with our community values.”
After the isolated testing is complete, integrated testing has the city engineers and other staff running real-world simulations and stress tests. The long, careful process is intended to ensure that the pool can safely and reliably operate 24-7 under various scenarios.
“One example of a real-world situation we test is if the water were to become contaminated (by human waste materials),” Schneider says. “Will the sensors recognize the need and the correct treatment?
“Another test is operating the pool with different users and anticipating what treatments are needed. Many swim lessons with little kids in the pool might have things happening differently than during adult lap swims. There will be different treatments needed during different types of conditions.”
A primary test will determine if the systems can run during the summer, when high use and open hours from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. require complex operations to perform without interruption. Once the commission process that includes Alameda County Environmental Health permitting is complete, two training phases will move forward.
One hundred hours of systems training is planned to provide aquatics staff with the necessary skills and knowledge to ensure systemwide safety and reliability. Staff are to learn about operating shutoff valves, digital systems programming and setting up alarm systems — just a few of multiple hands-on training sessions.
Tangental to systems training will be on-site staff training. A multiweek schedule is planned to instruct lifeguards and other staff on daily operations, emergency response protocols and more.
“We’ve been hiring and still need more lifeguards,” says Schneider. “We need 40 lifeguards to open. Then as we ramp up, we’ll need a total of about 80 to 100.”
In mid-November, Schneider estimates the city is roughly halfway to the desired total.
“We’re actively recruiting. An entry-level lifeguard who is certified but has no on-deck experience starts at $19.50 per hour. For someone certified who has 250 hours of experience, the wage is $21 up to $26.”
Schneider says one specific community recreational facility available even before the official opening pertains to the city’s mayor, Betsy Smegal Andersen. The poolside Smegal Family Poolside Room will be available for rentals and is where kids’ birthday parties will be hosted.
“She, her brother and her parents, Sue and Tom Smegal, who are longtime residents of Piedmont, took advantage of the legacy gift naming opportunities we offered during the fundraising campaign,” says Schneider.
The other legacy gifts are from Karen and Steve Ellis (the Ellis Family Pavilion) and Amy and Reid Settlemeir (the Settlemier Family Competition Pool).
“Many people know it has been Mayor Andersen’s long-held dream to provide a municipal pool for the community,” Schneider says.
Lou Fancher is a freelance writer. Reach her at lou@johnsonandfancher.com.