Avid swimmers in Drumheller will have to hang up their towels for the next two and a half months.
The Drumheller Aquaplex will be shutting down on November 4 and is scheduled to reopen January 18. During the shutdown, the Aquaplex’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system will receive a major overhaul.
Residents will only have a few more days to enjoy the Drumheller Aquaplex before it closes on Monday November 4 for an overhaul of the building’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system. It is expected the upgrade will be completed early in the new year and the Aquaplex will reopen on January 18.
“These are long overdue improvements to the Aquaplex. We know it’ll inconvenience our users for some time. Our preference would have been to do the work while both the indoor and outdoor pools were in use, but the contractor couldn’t make that window,” said Paul Salvatore, Director of Community Services for the Town of Drumheller.
The intention of the upgrades is to improve the air quality of the building.
“They are really extensive air handling upgrades. It’ll increase the quality of the air, in particular, deal with the humidity and air flow levels. It’ll make it a much more comfortable environment for users and staff,” said Salvatore.
Council awarded the contract for upgrades at the September 23 meeting of Town Council to Dee Jay Plumbing & Heating Ltd. for $361,853.10.
Residents with passes to the Aquaplex are being encouraged to stop by the Badlands Community Facility (BCF). Aquaplex passes will be accepted at the BCF during the shutdown.
“If they have a pool-only pass we’ll honour that at the BCF. There are people who just use the pool, so maybe this will give them an opportunity to try something different with their routine and do some cross-training. Ideally, we don’t want to stop service, but luckily, we have a great facility and the arena,” said Salvatore.
After the upgrades are complete, Salvatore hopes plans can be made to bring in a new water slide.
“Once we get past this, then down the road we can look at more fun things, like replacing the water slide. We’ll be looking at options as we go into this session of council. Hopefully we’ll get some plans in place and involve the public in determining what the final design will be,” said Salvatore. “A lot of people have commented they miss that feature, but one step at a time. For now we’ll focus on the HVAC upgrades and then the water slide as soon as we can after that.”
