Regina's Lawson pool repairs will cost nearly $300K more

The City of Regina is going to have to shell out some extra cash to fix the problems at the Lawson Aquatic Centre.

In February the city announced it would spend $1.5 million to fix the water cleaning and ventilation systems, but those costs have gone up. Bids for the upgrades came in nearly $271,000 more than what the city had initially budgeted.

That brings the total of the repairs up to $1.71 million.

The city said it will use money from a reserve fund to cover the cost.

Air quality issues made swimmers sick

The repairs come after inspectors found the air in the pool was making some swimmers sick. Parents and member of Swim Saskatchewan and Swim Manitoba raised concerns after athletes complained about the air quality.

In November of 2013 it was reported that chloramine vapours, which linger just above the surface of the water, may be the problem.

At the same time, officials from the health region posted notices advising people not to use the facility if they had any breathing problems.

"Here they are working out intensely six days a week, two hours at a time, four kilometres at a time for an average practice," swim parent Michael Katz told CBC News in November. "And they are coming out with respiratory problems and we are worried about the long term impacts on burning their lungs."

Upgrades to be completed by September

The fix will include an ultraviolet water cleaning system, an improved air distribution system throughout the pool, a system to pump air out of the building and more pool drains.

“We should have a much updated system that has cleaner air and won’t have the same issues that we had in the past,” Mayor Michael Fougere said Thursday.

The city says it hopes to have the repairs completed by Sept. 1.