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The Perfect Renovation:

Proposal for the Repairing and Renovation of Jeremiah H.

Mahoney Pool at City College of New York.

The City College of New York possesses a valuable asset which has been put aside and

ignored since January of 2014. Located in the basement of the Marshak building, the 75 by 14 ft

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pool has been abandoned for the past 4 years after some technical problems were discovered. It

prevented the students from enjoying the facility of pool for sports, therapy, or past-time hobby.

Having a pool in any educational institution is significant and in an institution like City College

of New York, which is considered as the Harvard of all City Universities, having the availability

pool and providing better facilities for students should be obligatory. In addition to being just a

mere sport, swimming can be very beneficial for health, physically as well as mentally. It helps

people lose weight, improve heart complications, balance strength, boost metabolism, and

increase a person's social outlet. Where having a pool for students in City College can be very

beneficial for students, it can also become contributing factor towards the school's finance. The

school can increase revenue by simply charging a membership fee to allow others to use the pool

for a specific period . However, a couple of damages in the pool system are preventing students

as well as the institution from exercising these benefits. The pools structure is in serious need of

renovation, and unless the college does something to fix it, it will stay unused for the upcoming

years. Thus, our team comprising few students of City College want to make an appeal to the

board members to rebuild the pool and put in use for the whole CCNY community. Of course, in

order to fix these problems we would have to set an estimate cost of everything we need to fix

the pool. Our team worked toward finding a solution that can revive the pool once again, and

allow others to use it.

Jeremiah H. Mahoney Hall pool has been approved by Cuny Central in 2014 to undergo

repairing. However, unfortunately, The City College of New York hasn’t started fixing the pool

yet, because of the budget as well as a major obstacle in repairing. As the pool is inground, the

stairs that lead to the machinery of the pool such as the pump, filter etc. is broken.The stairs that

lead to the pump are pretty old since the building was built in 1971. This hesitates people away

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from fixing the main issue in the system which is the pool pump. The old pump has stopped

working due to overrun of its period. Thus, installation a new pump is required for the pool.

In addition to that there are some cracks, rust and broken windows and equipments as seen

below:

Fig.1&2- cracks around the pool deck

The pool also needs new equipment like the Flags, lane lines and Underwater Vacuum Cleaner.

Chlorine will be supplied every month and will be deducted from the revenue we’ll get from the

memberships. After research, a plan has been suggested which would minimize the cost as well

as allow us to have our pool back in the shortest possible time.

For obtaining the objectives discussed previously, the plight of pool in college needs

some significant maintenance. The pool can be renovated into a clean and clear swimming pool

by implementing an effective plan with such steps:

● The initial goal is to construct staircase to get access to pump, filter and the other

sanitizor system of the pool.

A. Hire a general contractor to build the stairs again so that a human could have

access to the basement with all machinery required for the pool.

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B. Further, the dents and broken spots inside as well as outside the pool deck should

be refurbished by cementing spots and placing tiles in places where it’s required

to make it look more clean and attractive.

● The next and the main goal is to install a new pump which works efficiently with the

filters and the sanitizer system.This rectangular pool requires a 1HP (horsepower) pump

which can be averagely computed from the average depth and the flow rate of water in

gallons per minute (GPM). More details regarding this computation is disclosed in the

appendix. The best option for a pump based on the pool size and filter is Jacuzzi (J-

VSP250) Variable Speed Inground Pool Pump which is suitable for larger inground

pools.

● As seen in the figure below, the system of the pool consist of more than just a pump.

According to the information provided, the other parts like filter, heater etc are still

applicable of use. Thus, those parts should be cleaned and minor repaired to make sure

everything works efficiently.

Fig. 3- the system and machinery required for a good water flow in pool.

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● As the check valves used for the pool are two-way valves. Using a three-way valve would

provide a more faster water flow rate as seen in the figure below. In addition to the better

flow rate, it also simplify the plumbing for further minor repairing.

Fig.4- the comparison of 3 port valve to 2 port valve.

After calculating the required Gallons per minutes needed by pool (see appendix),

agreement was made that the best replacement for the pool pump is the Jacuzzi J-vsp250

Variable Speed in Ground Pool Pump ($1,439.99). This pump saves energy, provide strong flow

rate of water despite of having minor debris in the pump. It further efficiently circulates the

water with any filter and sanitizer system. Due to the condition of broken stairs that lead to the

pump, many workers have said no to petition. However, this proposal would take a different

approach and provide more convenience for the faculty of City College. Such a great school as

this should provide their students with a pool adequate for them. Therefore, by installing the

recommended pump, valves and remodeling the pool deck, an amazing swimming pool can be

provided for faculty, athletes, students and outside members to enjoy. Now, the question might

be, why fix the pool? Well, we can answer that with the followings: the pool provides a place for

athletes and students to run physical activities. It can be used to produce income by renting it to

nearby schools or setting a price for members. Also, we are providing our services in low cost.

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The following data explains the cost of this project:

Supplies needed: Estimated Price($):

Jacuzzi J-vsp250 Variable Speed in

Ground Pool Pump

1,439.99

10 concrete steps 3,000.00

Walls and cracks 1,500.00

Other Supplies 500.00

Service and Other expenses 12,000.00

Subtotal: 18,439.99

Further, the college can cover this budget as well as make profit from the memberships of the

pool within a span of less than a year. As usual among the city universities, membership yearly

for an outsider ranges from $400- $600.

Swimming is a necessary sport to have in any educational institution, for both health and

recreation. Considering the status of the pool, it can be concluded that the pool would be back to

service after an estimation of two months from first day of work. In addition, a 5-year warranty

would be provided in case any installation is damaged. We believe we are the best for the job,

and our next objective is to show you why. We will be glad to get the opportunity to work on this

project as it holds a significance to us as students.

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Members

Mohamed-taha S M Aly

He is a sophomore at the city college of New York. He is majoring in mechanical

engineering. He graduated from Curtis High School located in staten island, NY with a 3.0 GPA.

He has experience with computers and is willing to switch to computer engineering. He is not yet

sure what he wants to do with his major. He is a hard worker and confident of whatever he does.

Oliver Castillo

He is a junior at City College of New York, New York. He is majoring in civil

engineering. In addition, he graduated from New Covenant Christian High School. Oliver has

experience on construction and customer services. Also, he is specialized in AutoCAD,

Microsoft Office, and C++. He is a hard worker and responsible person. He is interested in

sports, and building things.

Sabya Sohaib

She is currently a sophomore in City College of New York. She is majoring in

mechanical engineering. She graduated from John Dewey High School. She has previously

interned for Ladder for Leaders program. She works as a manager as well as at Write on

Learning Center. She is specialized in Microsoft Office, MATLAB, Robotics skills and

Debating.

Youssef Aly

A Junior in The City College of New York, Majoring in Mechanical Engineering.

Graduated High School from Arab Academy for Science and Technology in Alexandria,Egypt.

Worked as a project manager, Sales Manager and has experience in AutoCAD, C++ and

MATLAB.

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References

1- How to Size a Pool Pump for Your In-Ground Pool - INYOPools.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.inyopools.com/HowToPage/how_to_size_a_pool_pump_for_your_in_ground_pool_.

aspx?CommentPage=1

2- Leslie’s Pool Supplies.(n.d.). Jacuzzi® J-VSP250 Variable Speed In Ground Pool Pump.

Retrieved from http://www.lesliespool.com/Jacuzzi-J-VSP250-Variable-Speed-In-Ground-Pool-

Pump/J-VSP250.htm

Appendix

Finding the Gallons per minute (GPM) of a rectangular pool:

Shallow = 4 ft

Deep = 12ft

Average Depth = (4+12)/2 =8ft

Gallons of water = Length*Width*Average Depth*7.5 = 75&14*8*7.5 = 63,000 Gal

For a rectangular pool, the GPH is 20,250 gallon per 8 hours, so for this pool

20,250/8 = 63,000/x

x = 25hrs

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63,000/25 = 2,520 GPH/60 = 42 GPM

Thus, the chart below shows that based on the GPM and the length and the width, the

approximate horsepower needed for pump of this pool is about 1HP.