District Projects : IN PROGRESS : Highland Horizon Pool Rehabilitation Project
Highland Horizon Pool Rehabilitation Project
Location: Highland Horizon Pool, 416 Highland Horizon, Austin
Background information: In summer 2024, District staff noticed Highland Horizon Pool had a crack in the plaster running from the floor up to the pool wall. Dirt was observed collecting in and around the crack, which is suggestive of a potential leak from an unknown origin.
The crack was repaired in early spring 2025 and has not returned, but other structural problems with the plaster that forms the surface of Highland Horizon Pool have since been discovered.
In conjunction with a consultant, the District created a plan to determinepossible causes of the pool’s structural issues, which could range from building techniques to unstable or cavernous ground beneath the facility.
Myriad potential paths forward could be possible depending on the severity of the issue, from fixing the facility completely to repurposing the facility for other uses.
Because Brushy Creek MUD land contains numerous karst caves, an element of the investigation underway seeks to determine if there is also a cave located directly under the pool.
On Dec. 13, 2025, the BCMUD Board of Directors approved a second phase of the investigation that involves hiring a geophysical consulting service to conduct noninvasive subsurface exploration using ground penetrating radar and a microgravity survey. This will provide a clearer picture of what may be causing Highland Horizon Pool’s surface to crack.
Findings from the current investigation will help determine potential next steps, which could include a more invasive look at the ground beneath Highland Horizon Pool by taking core samples. If the ground beneath the facility is determined not to be hazardous or destructive to Highland Horizon Pool’s structural integrity, then District leadership will form a plan to rehabilitate the pool.
Timeframe: Work for this project is still in the discovery phase. Once an investigation determines with complete accuracy the scope and nature of the facility’s needs, District officials will be able to determine a timeframe for completion.
Description: Work for this project consists of an investigation that will determine the safest and most financially prudent path forward for the Highland Horizon Pool facility.
Impact to the community: There is no plan at this time to keep the facility closed, and Highland Horizon Pool is scheduled to open again at its usual time in spring 2026. However, the discovery of structural issues occurred while work was being planned on a project to replace the deck at Highland Horizon Pool. The deck-replacement project has been subsequently put on hold until District officials can determine an ideal repair strategy for the entire facility.
Contractor: The consultant for the investigation is Zara Environmental LLC.