Leak closes Buffalo Pound pool for 2018 season

When campers flock to Buffalo Pound to enjoy the beginning of parks week this weekend there will be plenty to do; but the one item they can’t check off their list: swimming in the pool. The park’s 46-year-old pool is at the end of its lifespan, and damages have caused Sask Parks to shut it down for the season.

“The issue is beyond repair for us. The actual leak is below the basin, which is cemented in, so we have to close the pool and basically consider future options,” Sask Parks executive director of visitor experiences said.

What those future options may be has yet to be determined. Sask Parks isn’t ready to consider demolition just yet, but it’s not off the table either.

“We know that people that camp at Buffalo Pound truly value having that experience there, so we’ll be doing some considerations there. We have to take in budget and other factors, but we’ll be looking at our options for sure,” Campese added.

While they figure out where to go from here, those at Buffalo Pound found a way to enjoy themselves either way.

“This is our first day here, so we were hoping the pool was open, but I checked online and we’re like, okay we’ll just deal with the beach,” Chantal Redlick, who was there with her son and a number of other children said.

“I was kind of happy. I wanted to swim in the lake, but when I saw the big waves, I wanted to swim in the pool,” Dylan Ward, one of the young boys who had made the trip to Buffalo Pound, added.

The province is warning people to avoid swimming in water where blue green algae is growing, but beach goers don’t seem concerned.

Campese says she isn’t aware of any blue green algae currently growing at buffalo pound, but that doesn’t mean it will stay that way throughout parks week.

“I mean, it’s a possibility, we have a lot of heat right now so I think the option is there,” she said.