Kitsilano Pool may not open this summer: Vancouver Park Board

You may not be able to take a dip in Vancouver’s iconic Kitsilano Pool this summer.

According to the park board, the pool sustained “significant damage” during a major storm in January.

Staff had to wait to inspect the pool as that work required it to be drained — something that couldn’t happen until just a few weeks ago because of tides and groundwater levels.

“The storm was unlike anything we’ve experienced before,” Peter Fox, manager of Recreation Services, said in a video posted online. “While king tides are predictable and happen every year, this was a really unusual confluence of events.”

He says the pool inspection unveiled cracks in the deck floor, as well as other areas where deck panels have lifted. Chambers that are used to help fill the pool with water were also damaged, Fox adds.

Kitsilano Pool sustained major damage during a storm in January. The Vancouver Park Board says it may not reopen this summer due to repair work. (Courtesy Vancouver Park Board)

“To keep everybody safe, we really need to take the time to do the assessment and the necessary repairs,” he said, adding the work is expected to extend into the summer.

In an effort to “offset the impact” of the closure on the public, the Vancouver Park Board is set to open the New Brighton and Second Beach pools earlier each morning. Fox says staff are also looking at other solutions.

The storm in early January wreaked havoc on parts of the region, causing damage to infrastructure in some parts.

Fox says “an intense low pressure system with sustained winds of upwards of 70 kilometre per hour for six to eight hours” created what he describes as a “huge storm surge which sucked up water from the ocean and then created huge waves.” Those waves flooded the pool and deck.