Vancouver’s Kits Pool to reopen after ‘second set of eyes’ identifies fixes

Vancouver’s Kitsilano Pool will reopen for the summer after all — or at least for part of it.

Mayor Ken Sim made the announcement Friday, saying “pending no major setbacks” the pool would be open by Aug. 7.

“The cracks will be repaired, and when it is repaired it will give Kits Pool another anticipated two years of runway… while a new facility is being designed and built,” Sim said.

The aging pool has faced a multitude of issues since being damaged in a storm in January 2022.

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In June, the city announced the pool would be closed for the summer due to a “number of core issues.” Crucially, the pool was leaking some 30,000 litres of water per hour, making it impossible to balance chemicals needed for health and safety.

The closure prompted a public outcry, and Sim said he subsequently called in outside help from Jeff Stibbard, a mining CEO and engineer who was involved in reopening the beleaguered Stanley Park train.

Stibbard provided a “second set of eyes,” Sim said, which helped the city identify a path to reopen the pool.

It was not clear what that independent analysis revealed that would allow for interim repairs to reopen the pool that the city wasn’t able to identify in June.

A manager with the city’s capital maintenance department said the collaboration allowed them to get “the critical stuff done” along with more repairs in the near future.

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The city has earmarked $5 million for the pool, with $3 million to go to short-term repairs including a pool liner. The other $2 million will go to planning for a replacement pool.

Vancouver city council has also approved a plan to seek corporate sponsorship and public donations to help ease the cost of replacing the aging facility.

This is not the first time Vancouverites were told the pool would be closed for the summer, only for the city to backtrack and announce a late summer opening.

In 2022, the year the facility suffered storm damage, the city said in April it would likely be closed for the summer season.

In late June, however, it said an assessment of the pool had cleared it for use once cracks in its concrete surface were sealed. The reopened in time for the August long weekend.