HIGH RIVER, AB: The Town of High River regrets to announce that the pool at the Bob Snodgrass Recreation Complex will not open as expected on Tuesday, October 9.
“While we were preparing the pool for its reopening, a grounding test was completed and some grounding issues pertaining to the metal fixtures within the pool were identified,” says Reiley McKerracher, director of engineering, planning and operations with the Town.
Grounding is a safety measure used to help prevent people from accidentally coming in contact with electrical hazards.
“Many of our facilities are aging; we recognize that,” says McKerracher. “Unfortunately, we are finding some significant issues because of this age. Our priority is the safety of our patrons and pool staff, so we will be keeping the pool closed until early 2019 in order to complete the necessary work.”
Until further notice, all swim programs, including lessons, lane swim and public swim will be cancelled. Residents enrolled in any of the swim programs that are currently offered will receive a credited to their account by Friday, October 19. If there are any residents that would like a full reimbursement for lessons instead, please contact the Recreation Centre at 403-652-4042.
For residents who have bought membership passes for the 2018/2019 season, please also contact the Recreation Centre to request an extension on the membership pass or full membership cancellation.
“We have also reached out to our neighbouring communities of Claresholm and Okotoks to discuss opportunities for our residents to use their facilities while our pool is closed,” says McKerracher. “We will inform the community about these opportunities once they become available. Please check highriver.ca for updates.”
The grounding work that needs to be done entails removing tiles, coring holes in the concrete deck/tank, and locating the new grounding wires. In order to reopen the pool, further testing will need to be done to ensure the concrete and tiling work doesn’t leak and the new wiring passes the grounding test.
“When we have firm reopening date in 2019, we will let residents know,” says McKerracher. “For now, please continue to watch highriver.ca for more information and updates.”
The Town of High River thanks all residents for their patience while these repairs are completed. The Town recognizes the inconvenience this may pose for pool patrons and their cooperation is appreciated.
For updates on the pool reopening, please visit highriver.ca.