Vancouver’s Kitsilano Pool leaking 30,000 litres of water an hour, Park Board says
Posted December 13, 2023 12:28 pm.
Last Updated December 13, 2023 11:31 pm.
A landmark on Vancouver’s waterfront may not be around for much longer, the Park Board says, due to a massive leak at the Kitsilano Pool.
Matt Halverson, associate director of facilities planning at the Vancouver Park Board, says the beloved pool was so badly damaged by the 2022 king tides and it is leaking 30,000 litres an hour due to cracks in its recirculation pipes.
“It’s a hard number to wrap your head around. It translates roughly into an eight-lane pool, 25 meters long, a meter and a half deep, flowing out of the pool every day,” he said.
He adds that the pool is in operation but the effects of that king tide were “wide-reaching.”
The Kitsilano pool sustained major damage during a storm in January last year, and while king tides happen every year, Peter Fox, manager of Recreation Services, said in a video posted online at that time that “it was a really unusual confluence of events.”
He explained the pool inspection unveiled cracks in the deck floor, as well as other areas where deck panels lifted. Chambers that are used to help fill the pool with water were also damaged in the storm, Fox added.
A report from staff to the Park Board meeting on Monday states that the pool has “exceeded industry expected useful life based on age and condition.”
The pool later reopened in August but the report adds that it is still at “risk of failure” as it is more than 50 years old.
Monday’s park board meeting was the first since Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim announced he wanted to get rid of the park board.
This would mean the city is responsible for facilities like pools, golf courses, and parks.
The Kitsilano Pool area was developed in 1931 and in 2023 saw over 120,000 swimmers.
Halverson says that a report will need to be done to figure out what it will cost to save the pool if that’s even an option.
-With files from Hana Mae Nassar and Charlie Carey
