The therapeutic pool at Pathway's Health Centre for Children in Sarnia. (Photo submitted by Pathways)The therapeutic pool at Pathway's Health Centre for Children in Sarnia. (Photo submitted by Pathways)
Sarnia

Pathways Ponders Pool's Future

The status of the therapeutic pool at Pathways Health Centre for Children in Sarnia remains in limbo.

The well used pool has been shut down since the Christmas holidays after it was discovered that it was losing water.

Manager of Community Services Dave Schaller says they've since discovered a leak beneath the main drain.

"It's much easier if it was just a pump that needed repairing and you could actually see the leak from a leaking gasket, it's a much easier fix," says Schaller. "This one, apparently, is underneath the pool. So, we are now working with an engineer and other pool experts to determine exactly where the leak is underneath the pool so we can determine the cost of the potential repair."

Schaller says a report detailing its condition should be available soon.

"We've been fairly proactive about our pool and we realized already that it's a 30 year pool and will potentially require a system refurbish. 30 years is usually the shelf life of a pool," he says. "So, we contracted out an architect in the fall to provide us with a whole infrastructure assessment so we would be prepared for this in the future and wouldn't be reacting for it. We really wanted to be proactive."

He thanks the community, many of them being users of the pool who are 55 and older, for their continued support during this ordeal.

"They've really been wondering about the status of the pool, but they've also been very supportive about saying, 'what can we do to help Pathways not only keep this pool operating, but what can we do to keep the pool open and help and support the repair,'" says Schaller.

Schaller says their board is trying to be responsible and not make quick decisions until they have all of the information.

Contractors were on site last week.

All swimming lessons, parent and tot, client swims and adult swim groups remain cancelled during the closure.

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