CEDAR FALLS, IA -- How hot is it? This will tell you more than any triple-digit heat indexes: They're dumping ice, by the wheelbarrow full, into a lazy river at a local pool.

As the triple-digit heat wave enveloping Iowa continues, The Falls Aquatic Center is accepting 20 pound bags of ice today in lieu of the entrance fee, which in normal weather conditions is $5 for kids, $6 for adults. Cash and pool passes are still being accepted as well.

It's a race to keep the water cool as the state swelters under an extended heat wave.

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Cedar Falls Recreation staff member Tyler Verink said the water temperature in the lap pool was measuring 87 degrees Fahrenheit Thursday. The lazy river was 84 degrees, and the baby pool was 88 degrees.

Optimal water temperature is 80 degrees in the lap pool and 82 degrees in the baby pool, he said.

Bruce Verink helped coordinate the ice-down effort of the pools Thursday evening, directing wheelbarrows of frozen water to different areas of the aquatic center.

"If it gets too hot, it's just not refreshing for the public," he said. "If we don't have ice, we'd end up dumping 150,000 gallons of water and adding fresh, cold water."

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