By Katie Knapp
Omaha, NE – The U.S. Olympic Swim Trials are over, and Qwest Center Omaha is slowly returning to normal.
The Omaha Fire Department began draining the competition pool Tuesday after tests confirmed that chlorine was removed from the water. With water draining from the pool at one thousand gallons a minute, it will take 12 to 14 hours to drain the pool of all its water. The Fire Department is conducting a drafting and water relay exercise along with their role in draining the pool.
Myrtha Pools President Trevor Tiffany says watching the disassembly of the warm-up and competition pools is bittersweet. He says it's more satisfying to build the pools than it is to take them down. But Tiffany says the company is proud that one of its pools is the one where nine world records and 21 American records were set.
The pools must be out of Qwest Center Omaha by Friday. They'll be put on trucks and sent to Virginia. A swim club there bought the pools.
Workers are also re-installing seats inside the arena. Nine rows of seats were removed to make way for the competition pool and platform.