Valley Stream pool to re-open Wednesday

Even after Hurricane Irene cleared, the Valley Stream pool at Hendrickson Park remained closed. It is re-opening Wednesday at 10 a.m. for the final six days of the summer pool season.

Leaves from trees around the complex littered the three pools, and a lack of electricity meant none of the necessary equipment was working. Doug Clarke, the pool maintenance supervisor, said the pool can’t operate without its filter and chlorination equipment, a health department regulation.

Clarke explained that workers were putting chlorine in from buckets to keep the water from turning green.

On Monday, pool workers spent the day clearing leaves. The children’s interactive area, which is close to numerous trees on the east side of the park, was completely covered and Clarke said that section along took five hours to clear. “That was a wreck,” he said. “You couldn’t even see the bottom.”

At the Olympic and dive pools, workers were using skimmers to pull out leaves along the bottom. Clarke said with no electricity, they couldn’t run the vacuums. “It’s got to be done the old fashioned way, by hand,” he said.

On Monday, the workers also spent the day putting back the furniture, umbrellas and garbage cans that had been put away before the storm. Clarke said the pool didn’t open at all on Saturday so workers could clear the pool deck.

Power at the pool did come back on Monday night allowing workers to spend Tuesday ensuring that all the equipment was back up and running, checking the chemical levels and finish up and cleaning.

Portions of Hendrickson Park still remain closed as many trees and large branches fell throughout the facility. The most extensive damage was along the park's east side between the pool and Franklin Avenue. Village Clerk Bob Barra said based on the damage there and the way the trees broke, it is possible a small tornado went through there.