The Innisfail Aquatic Centre will soon be ready for action.
The centre, which has been closed since July 2 following an Innisfail Dolphins tournament, will reopen for swimming competitors and the public on Sept. 9.
For the first time since opening in 1987 the pool has been undergoing major upgrades. Terry Welsh, the town's director of community and protective services, said all work has gone smoothly.
“On time, on budget and no big surprises,” said Welsh. “The swimming pool project is coming along fine. We have received the last filter and it has been installed.”
He said construction was completed on Aug. 23. That work was followed by a week of commissioning to make sure all the systems are up and running properly. Staff will then be trained on the new systems before doors are opened to the public.
The budget for the project was $454,000, of which $227,000 came through a grant from the federal government's Community Infrastructure Improvement Fund. “We are well within budget at this point in time. There are some variables out there relative to pool lighting we are looking at,” said Welsh.
The single most important upgrade work done at the centre was installing new filtration, sanitation and pumping systems in the pool with new state-of-the-art units.
“What we have here are regenerative filters, completely sealed units. There are hundreds of tubes inside there. It is a very effective filtration of water,” said Welsh, adding there is one new big unit for the main pool and a smaller one for the hot tub.
He said chlorine gas will be the primary sanitation in the pool, which is standard for many public pools.
“The beauty of this is that it will really help with user comfort in the pool,” said Welsh, adding the new systems will reduce the risk of red eyes and irritation.
