Bell Aliant pool finally fixed, hopes to reopen by new year

A four-month ordeal to fix the leaking pool at Bell Aliant Centre in Charlottetown is nearing its conclusion.

Both pools at the centre were shut down in the spring by pandemic restrictions, and management took the opportunity to drain the pool for cleaning, but when they filled them again for an early September reopening they found the competitive pool was leaking.

Centre general manager Sue Fraser said fixing the problem took many long hours from both staff and contractors. They began refilling the pool Monday morning.

"There's a collective sigh of relief today. We're on the go," said Fraser.

"Everything looks absolutely fabulous in the pool right now. The water, obviously, is holding, and we're very optimistic that people will be swimming, hopefully, before the new year."

A new floor was put in the pool and it was tested with the gradual adding of water over the weekend.

It's been an expensive process, with the floor costing about $70,000 and another $30,000 in other expenses. Fortunately, said Fraser, a $2.5 million project to replace the centre's dehumidification system is coming in under budget, and they hope to divert some money from that to help cover the cost.

Once the pool is full they will need to heat and treat the water. They hope to have that done and the pool ready for swimmers before the end of the year, or very early in January at the latest, Fraser said.

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