The recently discovered electrical problems at the Westlock Aquatic Centre are worse than expected, and the pool will be shut down longer than planned.
At the Sept. 8 town council meeting, community services director Mike Butler informed councillors of a ground fault issue at the pool that would shut down nearly the entire facility when it tripped. They also learned it would cost roughly $15,000 simply to find the fault, with the cost to repair it subject to how much repair work is needed.
However, during the annual maintenance shut down, the problem was determined to be more severe than previously anticipated.
Town manager Dean Krause said “multiple problems” were discovered with the master control centre (MCC), “so much so that the technicians said it’s probably no longer safe to operate and recommended it be replaced immediately.”
The MCC is essentially the main circuit breaker for the facility. There are two MCCs in the building — one runs the pool pumps and other related systems, the second runs the building’s general systems.
It is only the pool that has been affected by the ground fault and MCC problems, Krause said, and the rest of the facility is safe for public use.
“We’re still going to open up the building so people can still use the gym and the racquetball courts,” he said. “We’re still providing some service.”
Ultimately, he said the town wants the repair work done sooner rather than later.
“Our plan is to get the pool up and running as fast as we can,” Krause said.
Mayor Ralph Leriger said having electrical issues in a pool is not uncommon considering the environment.
“It’s a highly corrosive environment and we knew that would be facing us,” he said.
The plan at the moment is to investigate how to replace the MCC, what it will cost to replace it, and how long it will take, Leriger said.
A key factor is whether a new MCC can be purchased off the shelf or if it needs to be custom designed and built.
Krause explained he hopes to have the situation examined and better details about the cost and timeline for when the pool can be reopened by the end of September.
However, he said things may take longer if engineers need to source the parts required or need to do more research.
