REGINA – More than two months have passed since an air quality health advisory was issued for the Lawson Aquatic Centre in Regina, but swimmers are still waiting to learn exactly where the problem lies and how the city is planning on fixing it.
Ever since kids began getting sick due to the air quality, the Regina Optimist Dolphins Swim (RODS) club has been struggling to stay afloat.
“In its 48 years of existence, we’ve never been closer to having to shut our doors,” said swim club president Nick Egarhos.
Many families have suspended their memberships and Swim Saskatchewan has refused to sanction upcoming events.
“It wasn’t something that Swim Saskatchewan did lightly because we knew it would be a huge impact to the RODS financially,” said Marj Walton, executive director of Swim Saskatchewan. “I’ve been in this position for 16 years and this is the first time we’ve had to take action like this.”
The city hired two consultants last fall to figure out how to fix the problem, but repeated delays seem to be wearing down swimmers waiting for answers.
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“Initially we were told those reports would be available by the end of December,” said Egarhos. “That was pushed to the end of January, and now the city has told us that we’ll be waiting until mid-February.”
The city of Saskatoon has dealt with a similar problem the Shaw Centre. The air is hard to breathe when there are large crowds in the pool area. Last summer two consultants were hired and this past week, council approved a $650,000 ventilation system upgrade.
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“The message that it sends to parents of athletes across the city is that our municipal politicians don’t value child development and athletic development maybe as much as other cities, like Saskatoon,” said Egarhos.
The Mayor of Regina says there’s no specific money allocated in next week’s budget to fix the problems.
“We need to know what exactly is required first for a long-term solution then we’ll talk about that publicly and we’ll adapt the budget according to address those issues,” said Mayor Michael Fougere.
The Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region says the most recent complaint about the air quality at the Lawson was received January 21st. Public health officials received 23 complaints prior to the health advisory being issued and 13 since.
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