Vancouver park board hears surprising pool report, with its personal future additionally in jeopardy
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The Vancouver park board has acquired a surprising replace on the situation of the town’s treasured Kitsilano Pool, studying the aged waterfront asset is leaking 30,000 litres of water each hour.
Making issues worse, engineers do not know the place the leaks are.
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“This can be a devastating report on Kits pool,” mentioned Commissioner Tom Digby following the presentation. “We’re on the finish of the road.”
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The park board heard that the upgrades carried out in 2018 have been anticipated to considerably lengthen the lifetime of the salt water pool, however in depth injury from the January 2020 tidal surge and rainstorm had reversed a lot of that work.
The report said the pool has exceeded its anticipated helpful life, noting a hearth earlier this 12 months had destroyed the hooked up Kits Showboat facility.
The pool space was developed in 1931 to permit salt water to come back out and in of the pool with the tide. It was rebuilt in 1979 with a brand new water circulation, pump and heating system, adopted by the in depth 2018 enhancements.
The park board heard that the pool is now cracked with rising slabs and that it was leaking 30,000 litres an hour of water by means of the recirculation pipes — with the precise location of the leaks unknown.
Preliminary scoping signifies a number of cases of pipe shearing and breakage.
“We can’t affirm precisely the place the the entire leaking water from Kits Pool goes, however some does ultimately make its approach to the ocean,” a parks board spokesperson mentioned on Tuesday night time.
“The precise pathways of leaks are nonetheless being explored with further investigations underway. Whereas the pool is in operation, de-chlorination tablets are added every day to forestall deleterious materials from getting into the atmosphere.”
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There isn’t any cash on this 12 months’s capital funds to additional restore the 137-metre pool, with employees recommending a feasibility examine be ready with the 2027-2030 capital funds in thoughts.
The Kitsilano Pool is the busiest within the metropolis, with visits from 190,000 swimmers in 2018. In 2023, throughout a shortened season, the pool hosted 120,000 swimmers.
Monday’s park board assembly was the primary since Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim revealed his objective to dispose of the park board and let the town run it as an alternative. This is able to imply the town can be completely liable for all swimming pools, golf programs and parks within the metropolis.
At present, the park board works with the Metropolis of Vancouver’s actual property, atmosphere and amenities administration division to function the pool.
That division is liable for managing the planning and supply of capital upkeep for the pool, based mostly on what’s recognized by the park board.
The park board is liable for day-to-day operation of the pool, together with lifeguarding, administration, and common facility cleansing.
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