Kings Park outdoor pool to be reopened

The Amanzimtoti swimming community is delighted with the news that the outdoor pool at Kings Park will be available soon and the first gala is scheduled for the end of August.

Local swimmers had to travel to Pietermaritzburg to participate in galas, which has proven to be a costly exercise. The news of the re-opening of the Kings Park 25m outdoor pool has been welcomed by local coaches such as Marinda Stuiver.

However, the Kings Park 50m indoor pool remains closed for repairs. After excessive water loss was found late last year, the municipality closed the facility to allow for an investigation into the matter. A camera survey revealed there were defective cracks, missing expansion joints, surface damages and holes and it said the pool should be repaired by the end of February, although it is still closed.

This is the second time the pool has been closed for repairs in the last five years. In 2015 the contractor was called back to site when the roof started leaking after a R3-million rehabilitation of the structure.

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eThekwini Municipality spokesperson, Msawakhe Mayisela, said the indoor pool is closed due to roof repairs and the anticipated date of finishing all repairs is September according to the architecture department. However, in its newsletter, KZNA said the Kings Park pool will only be available in November, as “an electrical sub-contractor is currently removing all the lights and electrical cables to enable the roofing contractor to remove the asbestos roofing sheets”.

Local swimmers and coaches are eagerly awaiting the opening of the R43-million heated swimming pool at Umgababa Beach that was started in 2016 and expected to be completed in 18 months. “The work being done on the Umgababa pool is currently in workstage five on site. The anticipated completion date based on contractor’s latest programme is 5 November. However, we anticipate that the completion, which includes two months standby testing, will be 5 January 2020,” said Mayisela.

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In its newsletter, KZNA said the only municipal pools available for winter training are Lahee Park, Claremont and Stanmore. The following pools are currently out of commission:

* Bayview pool – heaters are out of commission due to major electrical damage of about R200,000 and it will take at least six weeks to repair;

* Claremont heated pool – a major leak on the heating piping system is currently being repaired and it is hoped the pool will be available for use in the next two weeks;

* KwaMashu heated pool – has developed a major structural failure on the pool carcass and will be out of commission for at least six months;

* Umlazi heated pool – has also developed a leak on the return water line and the paving is currently being excavated to inspect the damage;

* Stanmore-Phoenix heated pool – the scum channel tiles are being replaced and the water level has been lowered by 250mm to allow re-tiling. The pool is available for use by KZNA during this operation.

* Rachel Finlayson water abstraction pipework has been vandalised by vagrants and the stolen pipework was replaced. The pool is being refilled and will be available from next week.

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