Palm Desert Aquatic Center Filter & Pump House Replacement Project

Update, July 15, 2025: Lap Pool Reopening on Modified Schedule

The City of Palm Desert and the YMCA have received approval from Riverside County to reopen the lap pool at the Palm Desert Aquatic Center on a modified schedule. Beginning this week, the lap pool will be open Friday through Sunday and remain closed Monday through Thursday.

For questions or additional information, please contact the Palm Desert Aquatic Center at 760-565-7467.

The pump room renovation project was initiated in 2024 due to aging equipment needed to operate the three pools at the Palm Desert Aquatic Center. The facility’s pumps, heaters, and filter tanks are all part of the aquatic center’s original construction, completed in 2011. In that time, the existing equipment has become degraded through use. In addition, new technologies have been developed that allow more energy-efficient operation of the swimming pools.

July 2025 - Recent Lap Pool Closures:

The aquatic center has three pools – a lap pool, a recreation pool, and a splash pool. The lap pool is a 50-meter competitive swimming pool. It is about 15 feet deep and approximately 880,000 gallons. Due to its size, this body of water is the most challenging to manage. About every two years, facility staff undergo a maintenance project on the filter tank to change out specialized filtration screens called septa. This maintenance ensures the filter operates at optimum levels to keep the pool water clear.

The filter tank is sealed tightly to maintain the suction necessary to pass the water through the filter septa; however, during a routine septa change in 2024, staff noticed that the fiberglass channel that seals the tank was becoming degraded. At that time, the staff initiated the project to replace the equipment. An engineering and design consultant who specializes in aquatics was hired to develop construction plans and specify new equipment for the facility. A full facility closure is planned for November 2025 to complete this eight to ten-week project.

Unfortunately, routine backwashing prior to the Spring Break recreational swim in 2025 resulted in some initial cloudiness. This is caused due to the pressure loss from the degraded filter seal. City staff worked with the YMCA and a contracted pool maintenance vendor to implement a repair plan that was carried out the first week of June 2025. This fix improved the filtration; however, when the weather heated up, the chillers were activated, causing an additional loss of pressure in the filter tank and resulting in the repeated reduction in water clarity.

On Friday, July 11, 2025, the City and YMCA worked with the Riverside County Health Department to assess the clarity of the lap pool. Since the main drains at the bottom of the pool were not clearly visible, the decision was made to close the pool. The safety of visitors and staff at the Aquatic Center is of the highest importance to the City and the YMCA. A modified schedule has been proposed to the Health Department for their review and approval. If approved, the lap pool will reopen during select days of the week and remain closed on other days for the water clarity to return. The recreational pool and splash pad remain open for use.

Pump Room Renovation Project:

Following a public bid solicitation process, the City contracted Rogers, Stringer & McClelland, Inc. (RSM, Inc.) to design improvements to the Palm Desert Aquatic Center pump room. The scope of work for the project includes professional engineering and design services for project management, alternatives analysis development, preliminary engineering, aquatic, facility, and hardscape design, engineering design, and bidding support and construction engineering for:

Renovation of the pump room to include the following:

• Remove and replace (3) pool filtration systems
• Remove (5) and replace with (4) pool heaters
• Reconfigure pump room to accommodate new equipment and optimize space

Since the contract initiation, RSM, Inc. provided a conceptual design of the renovation plans in December 2024 with an accompanying narrative providing insight into the design principles that guided the development of the project up to that point. In January 2024, City, YMCA, and RSM, Inc. staff met to discuss the project and review design development plans. With the completion of the final construction plans, RSM, Inc. is working with the Riverside County Health Department to receive plan approval.

City staff are developing a bid package that will be advertised on the City’s online bidding portal, OpenGov, in July 2025. A construction contract will be awarded to the lowest responsive bidder in September 2025. In addition, a quote for the new equipment is being provided for City Council approval at the upcoming August 28, 2025, City Council meeting. The equipment needed to complete the project has an 8- to 10-week lead time. This schedule allows the contractor to begin work as soon as possible, with equipment provided by the City. A full-facility closure is planned in November 2025, with the Aquatic Center being reopened in early 2026.