Municipal pool in Elliot Lake, Ont. closed again, this time because of a broken pump

The municipal pool in the small northern Ontario city of Elliot Lake, which was closed for repairs for two and a half years, is shut down again. 

Elliot Lake Mayor Andrew Wannan said the pool was closed on July 2 because of a mechanical failure with a hydrochloric acid pump.

It's actually the second pump to fail at the pool since it re-opened to the public in December. 

"The first pump failed and it's a fairly new pump, seven months old," Wannan said.

"We have another pump that we put in which is about two months old to try and replace it. It failed as well."

Wannan said the municipality is waiting for insurance adjusters to assess the cost of repairs.

"Most likely it will go through insurance," he said.

The Ruben Yli-Juuti pool was closed for repairs in June 2022 and after several delays, re-opened in December 2024.

Wannan said the pool had a yearly shutdown scheduled for the end of July, due to a shortage of lifeguards in the summer, and hopes the pump can be replaced or repaired during that time.

Elliot Lake has faced a range of different failures to municipal infrastructure in recent years.

The only arena in the community of 11,000 closed in 2023 due to structural concerns. Despite fundraising efforts to repair the building, it hasn't reopened yet.

In an update late last year, city staff recommended the arena remain closed until the fall of 2025, in order to complete necessary repairs.