Three months to the day after being closed due to a suspected leak, the Homestead Aquatics Center pool is scheduled to reopen later this month.

The pool was closed on January 17 due to a suspected leak that officials said may have been present since November 2016.

The facility saw a spike in water consumption that led staff to explore possibilities and search for any leaks. While the initial notification said there was no estimates of when the facility would reopen, a subsequent release projected a mid-February open.

The work finding the leak proved to be more extensive that anticipated, leading to continued delays.

“We want to thank the community for its patience during the repair,” Parks and Recreation Director Jim Orr said in a release. “We’d also like to say a special thank you to the community partners that allowed special use in their facilities during our closure: Hollow Rock, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro YMCA, the Orange County Sportsplex, and the Bowman Gray Memorial Pool on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill. We understand some of you had to change your routine during this time, and we appreciate your flexibility.”

Officials say the Orange County Health Department has given “tentative approval” to reopen the facility once a full inspection is conducted. Although those inspections are normally done twice a year, the completion of the upcoming inspection could allow for the facility to reopen at 5:30 Monday morning, April 17, and then operate on a regular schedule.

Additional work is required to complete the repair and the contractor performing that duty is not available “until eight weeks from now,” according to a release. To accommodate that schedule while still opening the facility, a wall has been constructed to separate the repair site and the public access point. Officials say the wall has been approved by the health department.

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