Repair bills near $3M for Elmsdale pool shut down for almost a year due to flooding

Repairs to fix the East Hants Aquatic Centre, which was shut down for roughly a year after massive flooding hit Nova Scotia last July, total almost $3 million, with more bills expected.

The Elmsdale, N.S., facility features a pool and community room on the main floor, while the basement houses mechanical and electrical systems.

The flooding happened when some areas of Nova Scotia received as much as 250 millimetres of rain over one weekend. CBC meteorologist Ryan Snoddon said 175 to 250 millimetres of rain fell in Elmsdale, mostly within a 12-hour period.

Stormwater entered the centre on both floors. The upper level had a few inches, while the basement had several feet, causing major damage to the building's main electrical and mechanical systems.

Once water retreated inside the building, the equipment had to be cleaned and assessed. Not all of it could be salvaged.

Documentation provided to CBC News by the Municipality of East Hants shows repair bills in 2023 were around $1.75 million, all of which was covered by insurance.

Repairs totalled another $1.15 million as of this August.

"The claim is ongoing and there will be costs incurred in 2024 which will be covered by insurance," municipal spokesperson Juliann Cashen said in an email.

The municipality also received a $570,000 grant from the province to help with the repairs through the strategic funding initiative, which provides one-time funding to projects that are significant to communities.

While heavy rainfall was the major cause of the flooding, a municipal official previously said improper drainage from the parking lot and nearby Highway 102 was another factor. The building is located close to Exit 8 of the highway.

The extent of the damage was surprising given the $19-million facility only opened in 2020.

CBC has tried without success to get copies of reports or briefing documents that detail how and why the flooding unfolded.

"Council has received in-camera briefings related to the flooding of the Aquatic Centre as they relate to our active insurance claim," said Cashen.

"We are not able to disclose these documents/minutes as they relate to confidential and in-camera sessions."

A 2016 report prepared by an engineering firm found the subsurface conditions for the site of the then-proposed aquatic centre were "generally good." However, because it was a geotechnical report, it did not look at conditions for the surrounding topography, such as whether it was prone to flooding.

Cashen said the municipality does not have documentation on surrounding topography readily available.

Last winter, the province announced it was spending $10 million to create detailed flood plain maps. The maps will indicate the potential extent of water accumulation in various areas during coastal and inland flooding events.

Around one-third of the province is already mapped and the rest should be completed by 2027, said Department of Municipal Affairs spokesperson Geoff Tobin in an email. Tobin said flood mapping for the Minas Basin region — which includes Elmsdale — was completed this summer.

The East Hants Aquatic Centre was honoured in June with the Lieutenant Governor's Award for Excellence in Architecture in the award of merit — large building category.