Heated and ready for the winter

Ward 99 councillor Nicole van Dyk said Linden swimming pool should be ready for use in the coming weeks.

It has been at least six months since the public pool echoed with laughter and splashes.

Lesley Ealand, an avid user of the facility expressed her frustration over how she and fellow swimmers were left for months without a word on when the pool would be ready for use.

Like many, for Ealand, the pool is not just the place to have fun with the family, it is also a great place for her to keep healthy. She said the pool had not been in use since November last year.

“Swimming is low impact and helps to keep me mobile as I was diagnosed with a form of arthritis,” said Ealand

Van Dyk said issues with the pool have been ongoing for months.

“There are three boilers at Linden swimming pool and in December the final boiler went down,” she said. She added that the pool never closed despite the temperature of the water dropping. “However as the temperatures dropped so did the attendance at the pool.”

When asked what challenges the pool had faced she said the biggest challenge was that the boilers were not serviced properly over the past few years.

“These are high-powered engines which work on a 24-hour basis and therefore require much care and attention.”

Also, she said there were very few contractors who could handle such skilled work and as such corners appeared to have been cut over the years.

“The newly revamped boilers have arrived at the pool and final installations are happening this week.”

She said it would take about two weeks to get the pool back to an optimum temperature.

Van Dyk concluded what made Linden swimming pool so special was that it was a world-class facility used by many swimming schools.

It’s also only one of a handful of pools that is heated and is open all year round.”

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