Bad news for anyone waiting for the lane pool at Genesis Place to open. The pool will stay closed for as long as two weeks.

The lane pool has been closed since July 3, as contractors worked to replace the drains to meet new safety regulations. The pool was supposed to reopen earlier this week as crews moved into the dive tank to perform the same replacements, but staff members noticed a problem with the paint curing process in the lane pool. Manager Greg Lockert explained that they use a robotic pool cleaner called a Dolphin, which is basically an underwater vacuum, to clean the bottom of the pool.

"When we came in this morning, we realized there were tracks that the Dolphin had made from the white paint through across the black lines that are on the base of the pool. The paint that is in there is an epoxy based paint that should have been cured, so we realized we had some spots that were not cured properly."

Staff members are now working with the general contractor to resolve the problem.

"Talking with the contractor, we need to drain the pool. We will examine what our options are for moving forward, whether it's spot repairs or an entire repainting of the pool basin at that time, whatever needs to be done, but we can't determine that until the water has been drained out."

The pool will stay closed until the issue is resolved. A press release from the City of Airdrie said they are hopeful the pool will reopen in 10 to 14 days, but Lockert said it is difficult to say how long the closure will last at this time.

“We recognize that this unexpected, extended closure will have an impact to Genesis Place users and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We are working carefully to make decisions based on the health and welfare of our patrons and will continue to update residents when more information becomes available.”

In the meantime, the hot tub, tot pool and leisure pool will remain open.

 

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