Denison council decides to remove aging Waterloo Pool
An August inspection found an unstable roof and fast-spreading corrosion at the Grayson County city's enclosed pool. Swimmers may get free weekday mornings at Austin College once enough lifeguards are on hand.
The Denison City Council has decided to tear out Waterloo Pool's existing infrastructure. The city announced the decision Oct. 5 and pointed to two reasons: the building was falling apart quickly, and outside contractors had made recommendations. The decision in the Grayson County city comes while public pools in nearby Sherman and in Gainesville are also shut for the season.
Contractors estimated the removal would run about $250,000, and the city said insurance proceeds would pay for it. Waterloo had been closed indefinitely since the city cited structural safety concerns after a Sept. 15 special council meeting. While the council weighed the pool's future, the city suspended the pool's optional fee.
The city's facility listing describes Waterloo as an enclosed pool with seven lanes running 25 yards, built to stay open in every season. In the meantime, the city's Oct. 5 update proposed letting Waterloo patrons swim free at Austin College's indoor pool from 9 to 11 a.m. on weekdays. The city had not named a start date because it still needed more lifeguards, and the hours would follow the college calendar.
The closure grew out of an Aug. 21 inspection by an independent engineer and Denison's fire marshal. According to the city, they found the roof unstable and corrosion moving faster through the structural beams. The pool's liner and shell were breaking down too. In September, the city reported preliminary engineering estimates of $7.5 million to $10 million to deal with the facility's problems, and it called those figures unofficial.
Preliminary, unofficial engineering estimates to address Waterloo Pool's problems
By comparison, contractors estimated removing the pool's existing infrastructure at about $250,000, which the city said insurance proceeds would cover.
Concerns about the building go back years. Waterloo was built in the 1960s to last about three decades, and its roof structure was added in 1995, the city said. A council packet records that a structural assessment commissioned in July 2023 rated the enclosure poor. The assessment cited corrosion and an inadequate system for withstanding sideways loads. That September, council members unanimously backed a repair option paid for with aquatic fees from the Parks and Recreation Fund. Minutes of that decision allowed the pool to stay open unless winds topped 25 mph. In its September 2026 statement, the city said inspections in 2024 found the pool unsafe in winds above 20 mph and that staff operated under that restriction afterward.
Money narrowed what came next. Denison's amended FY2025 budget says funding constraints pared a multimillion-dollar repair proposal down to a smaller round of emergency work, including reinforcement of the enclosure and an air-exchange system. The budget projected that this work, paired with preventive maintenance, could add roughly five to 10 years to the pool's life while the city explored a replacement.
Funding limits shrank the repair plan
$4.9 million repair proposal
The pool repair proposal described in Denison's amended FY2025 budget.
Proposed
≈$500,000 in emergency work
Enclosure reinforcement and an air-exchange system, projected to extend the pool's life by roughly five to 10 years with preventive maintenance while a replacement was explored.
Reduced to
In Gainesville, the city's municipal website lists the Leonard Park Aquatic Center as closed for the 2026 season. Sherman's Splash pool runs only part of the year. The city's parks page shows its 2026 season has ended and gives May 2027 for its return. Gainesville has replaced an aging pool before. A city financial report records the council's decision to demolish the roughly 65-year-old Leonard Park pool and build a new one, paid for with money made available by higher sales-tax revenue.
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