An official website of the United States government Here's how you know

Fort Knox FMWR closes waterpark early after daily loss of thousands of gallons of water

By Eric PilgrimJuly 25, 2024

Fort Knox FMWR closes waterpark early after daily loss of thousands of gallons of water
Patrick Medley, a contractor with Professional Contract Services, Inc., removes one of several dozen drain caps in the Fort Knox Waterpark to determine where leaks are happening. Installation FMWR officials announced last week that the waterpark would be shutting down for the remainder of the season July 22 due to massive water loss in the pool. (Photo Credit: Eric Pilgrim, Fort Knox News) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT KNOX, Ky. — Fort Knox Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation officials last week announced the July 22 closure of the installation waterpark for the 2024 season after they discovered a massive amount of water leaking from the pool.

Built in 1994, the waterpark is one of FMWR’s most popular programs, say officials. In fact, it probably earns them more revenue than any other activity at the installation with most weekend days staying at maximum capacity – roughly 500 people – and even to capacity during many summer weekdays.

Mark Maier, FMWR Sports, Fitness and Aquatics director, said engineers discovered the leak when they began measuring significant drops in the usual level of the pool each day. After measuring water levels, they concluded the pool was losing as much as 56,000 gallons a day.

The leaks forced them to close the waterpark July 22, he said, well before the end of the season.

Fort Knox FMWR closes waterpark early after daily loss of thousands of gallons of water
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – As a first step toward finding the leaks, workers with PCSI conducted a controlled drainage of the pool at the waterpark to ensure flooding didn’t occur further downstream. (Photo Credit: Eric Pilgrim, Fort Knox News) VIEW ORIGINAL
Fort Knox FMWR closes waterpark early after daily loss of thousands of gallons of water
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: Eric Pilgrim, Fort Knox News) VIEW ORIGINAL

The first step began at the beginning of the week with a contractor running a generator poolside to drain it at a steady rate.

“The problem is we don’t know exactly where it’s coming from,” said Maier. “We don’t know if it’s from soft spots or if it’s a leak in the return valve; so, they’re draining it all this week, and they’re going to run cameras in through all the piping to determine if there’s one crack or multiple cracks.”

By July 24, contractors began removing the 70-plus drain covers throughout the bottom of the pool and running a scope down each one to look for potential cracks or holes. Any suspicious pipes were recorded for further analysis later.

Maier said FMWR can’t provide a solid date on when the waterpark will reopen until they determine how extensive the leakage is and how long it will take to make the repairs.

The waterpark traditionally opens during the Memorial Day weekend at the end of May.

Fort Knox FMWR closes waterpark early after daily loss of thousands of gallons of water
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Medley runs a scope down each drain to look for possible leaks or holes in the pipes underneath. Any suspicious areas will then be captured on video or photos attached to the scope. (Photo Credit: Eric Pilgrim, Fort Knox News) VIEW ORIGINAL
Fort Knox FMWR closes waterpark early after daily loss of thousands of gallons of water
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: Eric Pilgrim, Fort Knox News) VIEW ORIGINAL

Repairs fall to the Fort Knox Directorate of Public Works engineers to plan, coordinate and contract out. Kevin Addison, the DPW contract officer representative to Professional Contract Services, Inc., who performs repairs up to $150,000, said they had a similar issue with the waterpark about three or four years ago.

“The piping underneath the waterpark separated and we had to cut up several places in the bottom of the pool to find the piping and put it back together,” said Addison.

During that inspection process, Addison said the separated pipes had created soft spots and holes underneath the treated pool bottom, which provided them with clues as to where the leaks were located. The investigative process this time will happen much the same way.

Addison said they were intentional about the speed at which they drained the pool to ensure they didn’t create flooding issues elsewhere. Once they diagnose the problems, they will create a second contract for the repairs.

Maier said he hopes the repairs will be done in time for the start of the 2025 season.

Fort Knox FMWR closes waterpark early after daily loss of thousands of gallons of water
(Photo Credit: Eric Pilgrim, Fort Knox News) VIEW ORIGINAL