The New Ipswich Town Pool is undergoing some updates after a state inspection two weeks ago, including a repair to its chemical monitoring and dispensing system.
Recreation Director Mindy Buxton told the Select Board during its Tuesday meeting that the town had been having issues controlling the pool’s pH and chlorine levels, an issue that the state has ordered them to resolve along with some other minor issues. In attempting to figure out the issue, pool staff discovered that a sensor on the machine that controls the chemical output into the pool was no longer working and has to be replaced.
The board agreed to spend $2,368 to replace the sensor, to come from the Recreation Department Capital Reserve Fund for equipment repair and maintenance.
Among other repairs required by the state are a new fitting for the hose that fills the pool to prevent backflow, plastic balls fitted inside the pipes that send filtered water into the pool, and color coding influent and effluent pipes, which will be done with colored duct tape.
All of these are minor expenses which can be done within the budget, said Buxton.
When Select Board member Tim Johnson questioned whether the chemical levels were upset to the point that the pool should be closed until the issue was addressed, Buxton replied that the pool has not been above acceptable pH or chlorine levels since the problem was discovered and pool staff have been manually controlling the chemical additions, as well as checking chemical levels every two hours to ensure compliance.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172, ext. 244.