New swimming hole? Iowa City plans to build new City Park pool replacing 75-year-old structure

Iowa City is getting a new outdoor pool in 2026.

The local city council unanimously voted to replace the 75-year-old pool at City Park and bathhouse at it's Tuesday meeting on the heels of a recommendation by consulting firm Williams Architects and its aquatic construction partner, Counsilman-Hunsaker. Construction is expected to begin next fall.

The current City Park pool loses thousands of gallons of water each day while its outdated infrastructure and storage area are hazards for employees and residents.

The council's unanimous approval of the overhaul ended months of debate and controversy over the future of the historic pool.

Community members attended various council meetings throughout the past year, voicing concerns that changes to the pool could turn it into a water park and would move it away from its roots.

New pool timeline

The city will move into the “Conceptual Design Phase,” which allows Williams Architects to create renderings of the new pol while also drawing input from the public.

The first phase is expected to begin in October and run through March, with designs and bidding approved by next July. Construction is scheduled to begin next September.

“A new pool doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be a different pool,” Andrew Caputo from Williams Architects said. “That’s what the public input process would be for — trying to build that consensus. If there’s a strong desire amongst the community to have a similar replacement pool, that can easily be done. We’ve done that before on many projects.”

The current structure is expected to close for the entire 2025 season while the new pool should completed by the spring of 2026.

Pool assessment reveals more than 10 million gallons of water loss since 2021

The full report, totaling more than 100 pages with hundreds of photos, revealed cracks in the pavement, erosion and rust in the pool, and even a microwave on the floor.

“Pictures do indeed speak louder than words,” Councilor Pauline Taylor said during a brief council discussion following the presentation. “We’d heard about the conditions, but to actually see these pictures, it was very dismaying to see the state of deterioration that has occurred to the body of the pool and the surrounding facilities.”

A lack of facility storage means that muriatic acid and calcium hypochlorite are being stored next to one another in the same room. An accidental mix of the two chemicals would make chlorine gas, Caputo told the council.

The report also revealed that leaks have worsened considerably through the years, first leaking about 30,000 gallons daily in 2021.

That sharply increased last year, with 48,500 gallons lost per day. Leaking has increased to about 55,500 gallons per day this year despite attempting to seal the leaks. Roughly 12,500,000 gallons of water have been lost since 2021.

Each day, the pool is loses about five-and-a-half inches of water, Iowa City Parks and Recreation director Juli Seydell Johnson told the council.

“The history of City Park Pool is important,” Caputo said. “I know personally as an architect, history is something that is cherished in the community. History has a role to play in the design process.”

Why is it being replaced and not repaired?

Repairing the pool would require difficult patchwork at a steep price, estimated at around $10.5 million.

“Money spent on repairs would not replace all site infrastructure, pool piping, or pool equipment, leaving these items needing to be addressed in the next 5-10 years,” the presentation noted.

The pool's original cast iron piping continues functioning, though modern pool infrastructure would utilize PVC piping. A repair would require extraction and full replacement.

The bathhouse also was in the spotlight Tuesday, highlighted by its age and lack of storage. Much of the bathhouse is not ADA-compliant and needs significant work to modernize and meet code requirements.

Replacing the pool will allow the city to meet more of its climate action goals, Caputo said, which could include a more efficient water processing system or the use of solar panels and additional solar power.

What’s next?

The conceptual design phase comes next, beginning with opportunities for public input.

Sydell Johnson said that could mean as many as 14 open houses, pulling thoughts from groups like parents, teenagers and daily swimmers.

Of the three future mock-ups, two will be limited to a budget of $10 million and a third will have a cap of $15 million.

Attempting to keep costs below $10 million would be rather difficult for a project of this size, City Manager Geoff Fruin told the council.

Final decisions will be revealed sometime in the spring, with project bids to follow.

Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at [email protected] or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01.

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Iowa City City Council votes to replace City Park Pool, targets 2026 opening