YORKTON — A shutdown of the Access Communications Water Park is expected to begin shortly.
Taylor Morrison, the director of recreation and community services for the City of Yorkton, said the city tackles a "pretty comprehensive" shutdown of the water park every two years. The last day for swimming is July 27, and the following day, the city will begin the process of draining the pool.
"From there, we're getting into our operational and preventative maintenance procedures, going through the pumps, taking apart the backend equipment in there," Morrison said in an interview with Yorkton This Week and SaskToday. "A lot of tile work and deep cleaning throughout the facility, organizing the forward-facing equipment and amenities that we have."
The biggest task, according to Morrison, is the city is changing the filtration systems and its sanitizing system. Morrison noted that when the water park was constructed in the early 2000s, an ozone system was installed to sanitize the water.
"That is being changed over to ultraviolet light for sanitization here as part of the shutdown," said Morrison.
The sand filtration system will be replaced with new components, he said.
Both the ozone generation and sand filtration systems were nearing the end of their life expectancy, he said, having been in operations for nearly 20 years. Upgrades were needed to still provide a clean, safe facility for users to come and enjoy throughout the year.
If all goes according to plan, Morrison said the water park will reopen Oct. 3.
The last prolonged shutdown two years ago lasted about six weeks to allow for tile to be replaced.
Morrison said the city completes the shutdown work at this time of year because this is when the pool typically sees a decrease in attendance. Communities around Yorkton have outdoor pools operating and people are out of town for summer holidays.
"Is there a right time to do it? We look at the summer as being slower, so using that time to shut down the pool," said Morrison.
If Yorkton were to shut down its pool in the late fall or winter, there would be a greater impact on programs and services because the outdoor pools in other communities would be closed.
He's not concerned with the projected length of this year's shutdown.
"Our fall swimming lessons tend to start in that October time frame," said Morrison. "Schools like to get back and get settled for a little while before they start getting into their swimming lessons and their rentals as well."
The budgeted cost for the project was $1.485 million. The main tender for the filters was $1.164 million. There will also be operating costs associated with the regular maintenance associated with the shutdown.
Morrison encouraged residents to visit the Shape Your City website for updates on capital projects and programming in Yorkton.
