GOWANDA — As of Monday, the swimming pool at Gowanda Central School, which is enjoyed by students and community members, is closed for repairs until further notice.

In a phone interview with the OBSERVER, Gowanda Superintendent Dr. Robert Anderson explained that approximately eight years ago, the district replaced the pool’s chlorine water treatment system with a salt water treatment system. “It works great,” Anderson commented. “It’s gentler on the skin and surrounding equipment. But the old piping that took care of the gutter drain was metal, and the salts reacted and rusted out some of the pipes, which caused some leaks.”

While the pool is technically still usable, Anderson said that if the drains break, the school’s basement will flood. “We’ve drained the pool down and will be having an engineer coming in to take a look at it. The plan is to replace metal drains and piping with plastic.”

Not only do students use the pool, but so do community members who participate in the adult education classes. “We’re looking forward to getting an idea of the extent of the repair,” said Anderson. “As soon as we have more information, we’ll let the public know.”