Canada Games Pool is almost back in business after weeks of work that will extend the life of the pool.
The pool has been closed since August, when a major maintenance program got underway. Canada Games Pool staff is looking forward to reopening to the public on Saturday, Oct. 5.
“We have had our gym, the fitness centre, open for the past three weeks,” said Hiliary Knowles, the city’s aquatics manager. “The gym opens at 8 o’clock. The pool opens at 8:30.am.”
The city does routine maintenance on the 40-year-old pool annually, but undertakes a major maintenance program every five to seven years.
During the two-month closure that’s wrapping up, work on the pool tank was one of the major projects completed. That process includes draining the pool, which contains 750,000 gallons of water.
“We drain, we prepare the old paint surface and then we repaint. We took out the bulkheads,” Knowles said about the partitions that divide the pool into three separate swim areas. “They were serviced and cleaned. Structurally they check them out. They were given a clean bill of health.”
A crane was needed to hoist the 20-metre long bulkheads out of the pool and onto a double trailer-truck, which then transported them to Langley for repairs. Each of the bulkheads weighs about 10 or 11 tons.
“I am always in awe when I see it,” Knowles said. “It’s quite a performance.”
Once the work in the pool was complete, it was time to refill it.
“It takes about four days to fill it,” Knowles said. “It’s a little less to empty it.”
According to Knowles, the water is 100 degrees Celsius when it enters the pool because it comes from the boiler. She explained the aging facility “responds better” to warmer water.
“We have to add it gradually,” she added. “Water is very heavy. It can actually crack the bottom of the pool.”
Although the water is about 100 degrees when it enters the pool, it soon drops to 78 or 79 degrees Celsius.
Staff was busy at the pool Wednesday putting some of the final touches on the facility before the weekend’s reopening.
“We are just about to add chlorine that will turn it blue,” Knowles told The Record. “It is green. When it comes in it is quite dirty. There is a fair amount of sediment in it. We add the chlorine and it turns blue.”
The lengthiest project that was part of this year’s maintenance program was the renewal of the filtration pits, which are the concrete tanks in the ground that were built when the pool was constructed four decades ago. All of the water that ends up in the pool passes through the filtration pit throughout the day.
“It is constantly filtering. In the course of a day, we turn over that water four times,” Knowles said. “In the filter pit, all the water passes through these filters and returns to the pool through pipes.”
Because some of the surface of the filtration pit was delaminating, the city decided it needed an overhaul – rather than risking a failure to the systems. The work included jack hammering down through some of the cement and replacing rebar.
“It’s original, so it would have been 40 years old,” Knowles said. “We were at our limit as to what would have been safe.”
The two-month closure of the facility also included the replacement of the 10-metre platform, which not only provides a spot from where people can dive but where people can access the waterslide’s entrance. The project won’t be fully complete for another week, so the platform is off-limits when the pool reopens on Oct. 5.
Because Canada Games Pool is open from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., it’s challenging to get all the maintenance done when pool goers aren’t using the facility. The closure allowed work to be done that can’t be accomplished during evening hours when the facility is closed.
“We have done probably 200 to 300 other items,” Knowles added. “A lot of things we tried to focus on the minutia in the building – filling holes, painting.”
While it’s unlikely that pool goers will notice new hinges on doors and showers, they may notice some of the changes that have been made including some new lockers in the change rooms, more modern brochure racks in the lobby and removal of the payphones in the lobby.
“What we were finding was declining uses,” Knowles explained. “We have a courtesy phone. We want to make it so kids can still call home.”
New Westminster city council has begun putting money into a reserve account for the purpose of refurbishing or replacing Canada Games Pool in the coming years. A 2010 consultant’s report provided options ranging from $22 million (minimal upgrades to extend the life of the facility from five to 10 years) to $55 million (a brand new pool and community centre).
Knowles said planning is underway for a 40th anniversary party for Canada Games Pool this November. Each year, about 500,000 people visit Canada Games Pool, including about 320,000 through rentals and drop-ins and 120,000 through lesson programs.
“For a 40-year-old facility, it’s quite impressive,” Knowles said. “There’s a lot more competition around that is newer and nicer.”
Despite the increased competition from newer facilities that have all the latest features such as lazy rivers, Canada Games Pool has a loyal following who enjoy the fitness centre offerings, the lesson programs, the numerous swimming lanes and the atmosphere.
“It will be really nice to have people back,” Knowles said. “We had people pop in during the closure just to visit. It’s a very interesting community feel the building has. We hear that regularly – we are a little more customer service oriented, we have a community feel.”
