Vancouver’s Kitsilano Pool will not open for the summer: Park Board

One of Vancouver’s most beloved and beautiful outdoor pools won’t be open this summer, the Vancouver Park Board shared Wednesday.

Kitsilano Pool will remain closed, the Park Board explains, after the pool continues to lose a “substantial amount of water” even after making repairs.

“Vancouver Coastal Health has confirmed that the pool can not be operated safely in its current state,” as the chemicals the pool needs are “impossible to balance,” the Park Board said.

“The extended closure will allow staff to fully investigate the ongoing water loss and make the needed repairs to the underground piping and basin required to extend the facility’s useful life. Staff also plan to install a custom liner which is expected to extend the life of the pool.”

The news comes after the pool was expected to reopen for the May long weekend. Over the past eight years, $5 million has been spent on capital works at the pool, which is the longest outdoor swimming pool in North America. It opened in 1931 and was replaced with the current design in 1978.

However, city staff say the pool may change again in the coming years, as they search for $2 million to conduct a feasibility study on the pool’s renewal.

The Park Board explains that as the pool was built 50 years ago, it is “at the end of its service life, with many components failing, deteriorating, and in need of repairs.”

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“In response to the closure and the impact on the community, the Park Board will be extending operating hours at Second Beach Pool throughout the summer. Please check the website for the expanded schedule, which begins June 12th.”

The extended closure comes after many years of periodic closures for the West Side pool. In 2022, the pool sustained “significant damage” during a major storm. At the time, 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 during the storm.

In December last year, a “massive leak” was discovered, with the Park Board saying it was losing about 30,000 litres of water per hour.

“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,” Matt Halverson, associate director of facilities planning, said at the time.