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Londoners already knew that the Glen Kern pool would be shut down this summer, but were surprised to learn that the Thames pool would not open either.
Publication date:
June 15, 2022 • 17 hours ago • 2 minutes reading • 12 comments The Thames swimming pool in London will not open this summer after a broken pipe caused damage that threatens the pool floor, city officials say. The pool and water play area attracted about 25,000 to 30,000 users one summer before the pandemic. (Mike Hanson / The London Free Press)
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Londoners already knew that the Glen Kern pool would be shut down this summer, but were surprised to learn that the Thames pool would not open either.
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The scale of the problem with the infrastructure in the Thames basin also surprised the city, said John Paul McGonagall, the city’s director of leisure and sports, on Wednesday.
“It is not uncommon for infrastructure to have problems, and it is not uncommon for us to have to find solutions to these problems. But I think it is fair to say that we have all been surprised by the scale and scale of what is happening in the Thames (basin) at the moment, and I will be quite honest with you: we are seriously disappointed.
The problem came to light during an inspection as staff prepared to find city pools, McGonagall said.
Deputy Mayor Cheryl Smith told city councilors at a council meeting Tuesday that the outdoor pool will not open this summer in the interest of public safety due to “severe structural problems”.
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A water consultant has been called in to determine the extent of the damage from a broken pipe that threatens the pool floor, she said.
The Thames pool near Horton Street was used by about 25,000 to 30,000 people each summer in the days before the pandemic, McGonagall said.
“Our next steps are to bring in experts to take a major X-ray of the pool next week and try to determine the causes, the exact problems and what the solution might look like. And as soon as we understand something, we will communicate with the council and the community, “he said.
The problems with the two indoor pools are not the same.
“The Thames pool is really about the mechanical, and Glen Cairn is really about the deterioration of the concrete and the pool tank, so they are two different elements,” he said. About 3,000 to 4,000 people use the Glen Cairn pool each summer.
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Users of both pools will be offered free tickets to the city’s other pools this summer. McGonagall said that with the two indoor pools and the continuing shortage of lifeguards in North America, London’s water programs will operate at about 80 percent of normal levels.
“We fully understand their frustration with the situation, and I think all we can do is do our best to try to find an acceptable solution to these frustrations,” McGonagall said of the Thames pool closure.
The Stronach pool is already open, and eight other outdoor pools are scheduled to open on July 1. The pool at Springbank Park will also open on July 1, and the rest of the city’s pools will open on July 4th and 5th.
All 17 city sprayers are now open.
danbrown@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/DanatLFPress
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