Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Thursday <strong>February</strong> 3 <strong>2022</strong> 5<br />
QE II pool emptied and cleaned<br />
• By John Cosgrove<br />
MAINTENANCE: Working<br />
in the main 25m pool at<br />
the Taiora: QE II Recreation<br />
and Sports Centre,<br />
contractor Matthieu Lucas<br />
hand cleans the many<br />
stainless-steel components<br />
surrounding the pool.<br />
PHOTO: JOHN COSGROVE <br />
GETTING 1.5 million litres of<br />
water out of a swimming pool<br />
isn’t as easy as simply pulling<br />
the plug.<br />
For staff at the Taiora: QE II<br />
Recreation and Sports Centre,<br />
the recent closure was part of<br />
a two-week delicate balancing<br />
act.<br />
City council aquatics manager<br />
Rowan Foley said the way<br />
they do it is to empty one pool<br />
first, undertake all the work<br />
they need to do on that pool,<br />
then pump the water from the<br />
neighbouring pools back into<br />
the now empty pool and start<br />
the process all over again on the<br />
other pools.<br />
“Over the course of the twoweek<br />
closedown we only needed<br />
to dispose of one pool’s worth of<br />
water, and that saves us not only<br />
on water but also on chemicals<br />
and heating costs as well.”<br />
The carefully managed<br />
maintenance schedule is usually<br />
undertaken every three-to-four<br />
years and takes a couple of days<br />
per pool at the $38.6 million<br />
complex.<br />
Work includes maintenance<br />
of the circulation pumps,<br />
filters, heating systems and<br />
pool tanks.<br />
Foley admits there is never<br />
really a good time to close a pool<br />
for maintenance but said they<br />
planned the QE II closure for<br />
the summer holiday period because<br />
the council has five other<br />
outdoor pools in operation for<br />
people to use, and it also causes<br />
the least disturbance to Swimsmart<br />
lessons and planned group<br />
swimming activities.<br />
Work was expected to be<br />
completed last Sunday.<br />
Plans to<br />
improve<br />
health of<br />
waterways<br />
THE AVON River Corridor<br />
freshwater quality project remains<br />
a topic of focus for the city council<br />
as the health of streams, rivers<br />
and creeks are investigated.<br />
This year the city council has<br />
plans to speed up work on improving<br />
the health of waterways<br />
around Christchurch.<br />
Head of three waters Helen<br />
Beaumont said the health of the<br />
city’s waterways is a concern for<br />
the mayor and city councillors.<br />
“They have asked us to provide<br />
some advice on what more could<br />
be done through the annual plan<br />
and the long term plan to improve<br />
surface water quality,’’she said.<br />
The Avon River Corridor is part<br />
of the council’s 2021-31 long term<br />
plan, designed to provide funding<br />
to increase water quality in rivers,<br />
creeks and streams.<br />
In 2019 the council adopted the<br />
Te Wai o Tāne Intergrated Water<br />
Strategy to establish strategies for<br />
the sustainable long-term management<br />
of water resources.<br />
Now to support that strategy,<br />
council is developing a surface<br />
water implementation plan to set<br />
out the work required for healthy<br />
waterways and freshwater<br />
ecosystems.
Change language