3 hours Ago By Laura Brougham
A mechanical issue has led to the closure of Crystal Pool, including the hot tub, sauna and steam room, according to the City of Victoria. The fitness areas of the facility remain open during the closure. For those looking to access the pool, the city says all partner facilities will be accepting Crystal Pool memberships.
These include municipal recreation centres and the downtown YMCA. “We are working to source the parts needed for repair and anticipate reopening on November 20,” the city says in a notice on the Crystal Pool website . “Please check back for status updates before your visit.
Apologies for the inconvenience, your patience and understanding is appreciated.” Derrick Newman, director of parks, recreation and facilities with the City of Victoria, says the mechanical issue was with the filtration system at Crystal Pool. “Unfortunately on Tuesday we had a major pool failure in the pool’s filtration system.
A large valve failed so we had to close the pool for safety reasons,” Newman said. “Staff are currently expediting the delivery of spare parts required to undertake those repairs.” Newman says there’s a number of major systems at Crystal Pool that are nearing the end of life and needing repair in the mechanical system, electrical system, the pool base and water proofing, and structrual elements.
Crystal Pool replacement info sessions underway The City of Victoria is currently holding information sessions for the public to learn about the plan to replace the aging facility , ahead of a referendum to ask residents if the city should borrow money to replace it. The city has asked the B.C.
government for approval to hold a referendum to ask two questions — whether the city should borrow up to $168.9 million to build a new recreation facility to replace Crystal Pool, and whether the new facility should be built in Central Park North or South. In B.
C., in order to conduct a referendum for long-term borrowing, a municipality must obtain consent from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs. A guide by the ministry says provincial approval can take four to six weeks, but more complicated reviews can take eight weeks or longer.
The city submitted its request in June 2024. READ PREVIOUS: Crystal Pool referendum off to B.C.
government for approval The two locations up for consideration for the new Crystal Pool is the north and south portions of Central Park. The north would mean the new facility is built in the footprint of the current facility, and require it to be closed during construction. The south part would be built at the corner of Quadra and Pembroke streets.
This option could mean the facility remained open during construction. However, staff note that the shaking from the rumbling could cause a failure of equipment, resulting in an early closure. The north option comes with a slightly lower anticipated price tag at $162.
2 million, while the south option would cost an estimated $168.9 million. READ ALSO: Crystal Pool referendum to ask public whether to borrow $169M, choose between 2 locations.
