Red Oak Pool opening on hold

The opening of the Red Oak Municipal Pool is indefinitely delayed.
Plans called for the pool’s seasonal opening to take place during Memorial Day weekend. Pool manager Georgana Derr said things were running smoothly ahead of that targeted goal before issues were noted.
“It was very exciting because Red Oak water superintendent Clint Roland took a lot of pride in getting the pool filled and ready to go in April so we would have time to make sure everything was running right, and get the chemicals balanced,” explained Derr. “Then before we started the process of opening for the season, we quickly realized there was a leak somewhere, as the pool was losing a large amount of water. So right after that is when we started troubleshooting, and we’ve been troubleshooting ever since.”
Derr said the warning signs that there was a problem were very obvious.
“The pool was filled and then somebody came in and the water level was way down. Pools naturally lose a certain amount of water over the course of a season. In the summer, water evaporates and it gets splashed. But the water was at a level when it was first discovered that quickly made it clear it was not a normal water loss. Also, it was losing water at such a rate that it was impossible to just soldier through, If it was a little bit of loss, we could just keep filling it. This is more than that, and because of that, just adding water back to the pool wouldn’t cut it, because we were losing so much that the chemicals we use to treat the water would have remained out of balance, and we can’t have that.”
As of May 27, crews hadn’t been able to rule out any potential locations for the leak. Derr said that finding out there was a leak that was going to create a delay in opening was quite a blow.
“It is tough because we are fully staffed, and we are ready to go. I have plenty of pool attendants, I have managers, I have lifeguards, I’ve gotten everyone in class, we have concessions, we have swim lessons, we have programming, everything is set and ready to go, we just don’t have a working pool right now, so it’s kind of a huge bummer,” stated Derr.
This isn’t the first year of the pool having an issue. In 2024, there was an issue with the pool’s pumps that caused a delay of nearly two weeks in opening. Last year, the pool was closed for some of the season while they dealt with an air bubble underneath the pool’s lining. Derr said other than the bubble, they didn’t notice anything amiss during the last pool season, so she believes whatever is causing the pool’s issue this year, it happened after the prior season ended in 2025.
On May 26, Derr said that a staff meeting with all of her summer hires was held to keep them informed of the situation.
“Obviously, they know that we’re not open right now, so we’re just really wanting everyone to send thoughts, prayers, and good vibes to our pool in hopes that they can find whatever is wrong and we can fix it quickly and be open,” said Derr.
Derr hopes that the delay won’t cause her to lose people who are needing a summer job to start quickly.
“We didn’t lose any staff after our May 26 meeting concluded, so that was good news. We may have a few that maybe don’t want to go but they simply can’t wait for the job to begin. That could be really hard for us. Because of the shape of this pool, it takes a large staff to completely staff this pool,” Derr explained. “Luckily I’m also tied in with the Montgomery County Family YMCA now so I’m hoping to maybe borrow some staff over there if needed.”
Once the leak has been located and repairs can be made, Derr said it’s still going to take additional time to prepare for an opening.
“Once they find whatever is broken and fix it, then we have to fill it back up, balance it out, and submit tests to the state and get that back. So that process alone is quite lengthy. Basically, it was everything that Clint Roland had done for us in April, and it has to be done again. Even though that didn’t take, we all are grateful Clint filled it up when he did because now it has allowed us to troubleshoot,” advised Derr.
In addition to being unable to determine the location of the leak, the cause of the leak has yet to be determined as well. If the leak causes the delay in opening the pool to become a long-term one, Derr said she has some options.
“Depending on how things go in June, we might do a lot more summer programming at the pool and kind of roll what I was going to do with the municipal pool over to the YMCA. Also, I’ve talked to the Red Oak Country Club staff about maybe getting some lifeguards due our pool not being open, and that the country club might be an option for people, and they can go out there and swim in the country club pool,” Derr said.
Derr also made it clear that at this point, they have no worries that the pool will be closed all season.
“No one has told us that yet. We’re still being hopeful and positive and we have not passed the line of no return. We’re still in the end of May to early June, which is a good thing. The other thing that people should know is that everyone is working on it. All of the city’s parks and recreation staff, all of the staff in the water department are working on this issue with an outside company. It’s all hands on deck, and they’re all trying to fix it together.”
Derr said once they do get the pool season started, they may be able to make up some of the days lost on the front end of the season at the end.
“This year our pool season was supposed to end Aug. 16th, the reason for that is because that’s only one week before school starts, and usually the start of school helps us determine our season end. If we could, I think we would be interested in being open a little longer. Ultimately, the closing date is somewhat flexible, it would depend on what we could work out and whether we’d have the staff available to stay open past Aug. 16,” commented Derr. “If we stay open after school starts, we could look at being open some additional weekends, or opening later in the afternoon on weekdays after school starts. The nice thing is that all of those options are on the table right now. If we have the staff, We could definitely figure that out.”
As for those that have bought pool passes, Derr said they will be discussing options to make up for the delay, be it reimbursement or rolling over days into next year’s pool season. All options are on the table for that situation as well.
To keep up to date on the pool at the potential opening, follow the Facebook page at facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559819617243, or call (712) 370-0256.