Reseal for TRAC Murwillumbah 50-metre pool
20 July 2017
Pool to be drained from Monday
Maintenance work will begin on Monday to reseal a section of the 50-metre pool at Tweed Regional Aquatic Centre Murwillumbah.
The outdoor pool will be drained this week so a strip along the floor of the pool, down the two centre lanes, can be relined. The water will be drained slowly over two or three days, to assist with cleaning the pool walls and base, before contractors complete the resealing the following week.
The pool will then be refilled with fresh water, ready for reopening in September when TRAC switches to its summer operating hours.
The 50-metre pool has been closed to the public since the March floods, which carried a large amount of sediment into the pool.
“The pool’s filters were then damaged because the flood waters meant no one could get into the complex to stop the filters turning on automatically,” Council’s Director Community and Natural Resources, Tracey Stinson, said.
“The high levels of sediment damaged the filters, which were repaired in June in readiness of the maintenance work.”
It is eight years since the upgraded TRAC Murwillumbah was opened and the recoat of the pool’s lining has been planned since the start of the year.
“We have just been awaiting the availability of contractors to complete the work,” Ms Stinson said.
“When the floods and damaged filters forced us to close the 50-metre pool, it was decided to hold off on emptying and cleaning the pool until the reseal could be done,” Ms Stinson said.
“While we acknowledge there is a small number of people who would ordinarily continue to swim in the outdoor pool during winter, and we apologise for the inconvenience to them, the level of usage could not justify the cost of draining and refilling the pool twice.
“In the meantime, the dirty water has been kept in the pool because an imbalance of pressures on the pool structure means there’s a risk of the walls cracking if such a large pool is empty for an extended period.”
TRAC Murwillumbah’s indoor pools will all remain open to the public throughout the maintenance work on the 50-metre pool.
For updates about the maintenance work and further details of TRAC opening times and activities, visit http://trac.tweed.nsw.gov.au