The Lake Newport swimming pool should be available for Reston Association’s upcoming pool season, despite recent winter weather disrupting an ongoing renovation.
The project to “chip out” layers of plaster that have built up over the years and resurface the pool at 11601 Lake Newport Road is still on track to be completed by this summer, RA communications director Cara O’Donnell confirmed to FFXnow.
In a project update filmed in late January prior to Winter Storm Fern but not released until last Friday (Feb. 27), RA Capital Projects Manager Austin Mayhugh shared that workers had stripped about three-quarters of the pool down to its shell and were making progress on the final section.
“The next step of the project is to identify beam damage in the pool walls and the basin and rebuild that back up to the bottom surface,” Mayhugh said. “Following that, they will place new tile and coping.”
According to Mayhugh, RA typically adds a white coat or a new layer of plaster to refresh the surface of its swimming pools every six to seven years, but after about five rounds of that, the plaster has built up to the point where it needs to be removed.
“Something that happens when there’s so many layers of plaster is delamination, which is the splitting of in-between layers on the pool’s surface,” he explained. “Eventually, you want to chip back down to the base of the shell and start over again.”
Towards the end of last year’s pool season, the association also identified a couple of leaks from a return line and a fitting for the main drain in the deep end at Lake Newport. Both leaks are being repaired as part of the chip out project.
In addition, RA is replacing the main pool pump, internal components of the filtration system and skimmers that often “produce some leaks” after a period of 30 years, Mayhugh said.
As of Jan. 20, crews had removed enough plaster and other debris to fill 13 dumpsters that weighed eight tons each. A total of 25 dumpsters are expected to be needed for the project.
“After we finish this project and have a new white coat surface on the bottom of the pool, we estimate about a 30-year life span to get to this point again and do another chip-out,” Mayhugh said.
RA anticipates releasing its schedule for the 2026 pool season in April and is currently accepting applications for lifeguards and other seasonal workers.
After expanding the aquatics season by 1,400 hours last year, the Board of Directors approved a budget in November that will bring this year’s operating hours closer to the 2024 schedule with a $175,000 reduction in funding. The pool season usually begins in early May and continues until mid-September, with most pools closing early after Labor Day weekend.
In addition to fixing up the pool, RA is planning to renovate the Lake Newport tennis courts after local players expressed support for improving the surface and lighting. Funded by the association’s capital improvement program, the project is scheduled to begin demolition later this year with construction on the court replacements starting in 2027.
