Concrete falls from ceiling of busy Vancouver pool

Two large sections inside the Vancouver Aquatic Centre (VAC) are closed to patrons and swimmers after a piece of concrete fell from the ceiling, and a number of acoustic panels were found to be loose.

A statement from the city says the concrete fell in the tot pool area, likely as a result of maintenance being done on the building's exterior. 

"The pool was closed while the work was conducted, and during this work a small piece of concrete spalling came loose and landed in the north side of the pool," said the statement, issued jointly by the City of Vancouver's real estate, environment and facilities management (REFM) team and the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation.

"As an additional safety measure, netting has been installed to catch any potential falling debris. While the work was underway earlier this week, the contractor identified there were five to six acoustic panels which had come loose as a result of the work being conducted as well."

The tot pool remains closed, according to the statement, and the eastern deck and end of the main swimming tank have also been closed as a precaution with exterior maintenance taking place on that side of the building.

When it opened in 1974, VAC was a sporting showpiece with a beach location in the densely populated West End. It remains in high demand by swimming, synchro, water polo and diving clubs for training and competitions. It also hosts a slew of recreation programs and swimming lessons.

But at 50 years old, the pool has seen better days.

Two years ago, a three metre by 10 metre section of the outside wall above the entrance doors fell off the building. The collapse, luckily, happened during the night when it was closed.

In 2015, flooding in the mechanical room took out the electrical system.

Longtime swimmer and water polo player Bob Nichols says VAC shutdowns highlight the bigger problem of Vancouver's pool shortage and aging aquatic infrastructure. 

"It's unfortunate that we're in a state where when the pool does break down, it affects so many groups and so many people. There's just not a lot of other options in the city," he said.

Swimmer Jarrett Vaughan sat on an aquatics advisory committee created by the Vancouver Park Board. He thinks elected officials have dropped the ball.

"Previous councils and mayors have ignored the huge demand on aquatic facilities in the city, and this is especially worrying since swimming is a basic skill that people who live in a city surrounded by rivers and oceans should really have," he said.

"When you look at how important aquatics is for therapeutic reasons, for physical fitness and for just general safety, you would hope that this would be a priority."

A plan to replace the VAC has been talked about for years but keeps getting kicked down the road.

A 2011 report prepared for the Vancouver Park Board recommended the pool be replaced by 2021. 

By 2019 there was another report — VanSplash — that said plainly "the Vancouver Aquatic Centre is now at the end of its lifecycle."

Design work for a replacement facility is supposed to be done this year, with construction possibly starting in 2026, according to information released last year.

Meanwhile, other city pools of the same generation are also becoming increasingly decrepit.

On Thursday, Templeton Pool in East Vancouver was suddenly closed down after the filter system broke. Templeton opened in 1974, the same year as VAC.

And the future of the beloved Kitsilano outdoor pool is anything but certain after the recent news it's leaking 30,000 litres of water an hour out of cracked pipes. The current version of Kits Pool opened in 1979. 

The joint statement from the city's facilities management team and the park board said there is no confirmed date of reopening for the shuttered sections of the Vancouver Aquatic Centre. 

"Staff hope to have the repair schedule determined shortly to share with patrons," it said.