Hot water on tap for pool

Residents may be able to refer to the Hot Springs Pool without a trace of irony, if things go according to plan.

In special meeting Tuesday evening, the Salida City Council directed City staff to prepare a bid request for the repair and maintenance of the pipe that brings hot water to the pool.

Details will be refined by staff, but the proposal will ask potential contractors to insulate 4,000 feet of the existing water pipe through the Little River subdivision or replace that length with new, factory-insulated pipe. “That first 4,000 feet is where we lose the greatest amount of heat” said City engineer Jerry Burgess.

If temperature gains aren’t sufficient, a second phase of the project would require insulating or replacing another 4,000 feet of water pipe along Highway 50.

Water emerges from the ground at roughly 147 degrees on City-owned property south of Poncha Springs. Inflow at the Hot Springs Pool has been found to be as low as 87 degrees, although it is typically higher. Heat loss varies during the year, but is greatest in the spring when the water table rises due to irrigation, submerging the pipe in cold water.

Computer modeling shows that insulating 4,000 feet of the water line with 2 inches of insulation could increase the temperature coming into the pool by 20 degrees, Burgess said.

Buena Vista-based Custom Linings is one potential bidder on the project. The company provides equipment, training and technical expertise for contractors installing industrial coatings and containment systems. Rather than add new pre-insulated pipe, Custom Linings would excavate the old pipe and spray on a plastic insulation coating, according to owner Mark Swarny. The spray-on approach has some advantages over replacing pipe, Swarny said, in that road cuts can be avoided and water delivery would not be interrupted while the work was being done.

Relocating the pipeline in such a way that it would not be immersed in groundwater was considered by the Council but shelved after the Town of Poncha Springs refused to consider requests to approve necessary easements.

The bid request will be prepared by City staff in the next few weeks and is expected to go to bid within 30 days.