North

Inuvik residents will have to wait until summer for the pool to reopen

Engineers want to make the ground below the pool has settled from the leaking issues that plagued it recently. The move is expected to cause an additional delay of about two months before the pool reopens.

Town officials originally said in October it would take at least six months to fix

Inuvik's senior administrative officer Grant Hood says engineers want to take measurements of the ground below the pool to make it has settled before they replace the pool's in-ground plumbing. (Mackenzie Scott/CBC)

Fun at the pool at Inuvik's Midnight Sun Complex is going to have to wait a couple of months longer than originally planned.

The town shut down the pool in March 2020, because of the pandemic, and kept it closed after they discovered the pool leaked, causing the ground to shift.

Town officials said in October that it would take at least six months to fix the pool by replacing the in-ground plumbing but engineers have asked the town to measure the ground below the pool to make sure it's settled before they replace the plumbing.

"Then we have to wait 30 days, which is going to be up in early February, and then take some other measurements. They want to see if there is some other [ground] movement," said Grant Hood, senior administrative officer for the town.

"Once we get that, then we can replace the [pool] liner because the liner is about three to four years past its usual life anyways."

After the pool liner is replaced, Hood says that's when they will replace the in-ground piping with pipes above the ground.

Hood says the town has the budget in place and it's already started the work in regards to getting supplies up, since it can take seven to eight weeks for some things to be brought up North.

He said the town has been told it will take about three to four months of work for the overhaul to be completed.

"It's probably going to be closer to a May-June time frame now," said Hood.