Users at the Innisfail Aquatic Centre will have to put up with a few inconveniences for an undetermined length of time.
Terry Welsh, the town's director of community and protective services, said the facility's steam room is temporarily closed until new parts arrive for the generator. As well, there are issues with the hot tub, he added.
He said staff had had to reduce aeration in the hot tub in order to balance pH levels. PH is the measure of the water's acidity or alkalinity.
ìWe had to reduce aeration to keep pH levels at acceptable parameters as defined by the provincial swimming pool regulations,î said Welsh. ìThe hot tub is being used (but) pH is being kept in balance with less aeration.î
Welsh said the problem with the hot tub, with its ìcomplexî chemical balance issues, is ìnot unusualî but added it could take some time to sort out.
ìThere will be some impact to convenience until we get it sorted out. We are trying different things and approaches,î said Welsh, adding users of the hot tub will ìfeel a differenceî with its performance.
Despite the problem Welsh emphasized there is no threat to public safety.
He could not give a time frame on how long it will take to fix the hot tub issues, or when the parts for the steam room generator will arrive.
Welsh also could not offer the cost to address the current issues but did say they were ìnot a huge cost.î
The current issues at the aquatic centre follow a routine annual maintenance operation in December when the facility was shut down from Dec. 3. to 27.
He said at the time it was a chance to make improvements at the facility, which was built in 1986.
Last week Welsh said no major issues were uncovered but the centre's budget has to be adjusted with an additional $10,000 to address chlorine issues.
