Inuvik pool completely replacing in-ground piping for 'long-term' impact

By the time the Inuvik pool at the Midnight Sun Complex is expected to reopen, it will have been closed for almost a year.

A big reason is because the town has made the decision to completely redo the piping after long-standing leakage issues were not getting better.

"We are abandoning the in-ground concrete piping in the pool that is underneath the pool and we've talked to the engineers and the pool manufacturer and it is possible," said Grant Hood, the Senior Administrative Officer for the Town of Inuvik.

"We have learned that pools around the world are getting away from doing this piping that's underneath for these exact same reasons."

The pool opened about 15 years ago, but has been plagued by many issues ever since.

In 2018, it was shut down for about about eight months due to leaks and the ground shifting below.

The pool then closed in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic. While other pools across the territory have since reopened, the Inuvik pool has not.

"We were still continually having water leak and had trouble finding where it was leaking and thought it was kind of manageable," Hood said.

We've gone through a lot of Tylenol over this and it's a road that we didn't want to necessarily take but sometimes you have to look at the long term.- Inuvik SAO Grant Hood

He said they originally looked to see if they could raise an area of the pool which had slumped, through a process called foam jacking.

However, when they tried to do that, it didn't come out as successfully as planned because they were only able to lift the pool a little bit due to issues with the pipes.

"What we had found was that there were so many little tiny leaks through the system that the foam had been getting into the pipes and in one case blocked up a pipe," Hood said.

At least six months to fix

He said the process highlighted issues in areas that they didn't realize.

Hood said the new piping will be along the edge of the pool so they will have better access to it. 

He said it was not an easy decision, especially with a lack of recreation facilities in Inuvik, including the East Three School's gyms, which are staying closed.

"Trust me, it's caused a lot of headaches. We've gone through a lot of Tylenol over this and it's a road that we didn't want to necessarily take but sometimes you have to look at the long term. You can't look at the short term effect."

The town also has to fix the pool's liner which is about four years past its life expectancy.

It will take at least six months to fix both issues. However, Hood said there had already been about $350,000 set aside for that in the capital budget for 2021.

He believes the total cost could range from $400,000 to $500,000.

Hood said he appreciates the patience from everyone, and said they will try to do something special for residents once the pool reopens.

"It was probably one of the hardest decisions we've made in the 10 years I've been here," he said.

"We are working our best to have what I think is a world class facility remain a world class facility."