Inuvik’s pool is once again closed, two months after reopening following a three-year shutdown. This time, closure follows a recommendation from the NWT’s Environmental Health office.
The town’s Wednesday announcement of the fresh closure comes two weeks after the municipality put out a notice advising residents that sealant used in the pool was rubbing off on residents.
At the time, the town encouraged swimmers “to try to avoid leaning or rubbing up against the pool wall seams.”
The town now says that situation was brought to the attention of Environmental Health, who encouraged the town to close the pool until the sealant issue was resolved.
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“It is with difficulty that the town has made the decision to follow this recommendation,” the town wrote in a public notice.
“While there has been no indication that this has caused a health risk, it is on the side of caution that we are taking these steps.”
The town stressed the sealant chosen for the pool was recommended by the pool’s supplier, and hypothesized that Inuvik just happened to receive a bad batch of the product as it has been used without apparent issue in other pools.
The municipality said it is unsure how long the closure will last and is looking at how to fix the problem.
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In late April, the town had been planning to find another product to cover the sealant and apply it when the pool was drained for annual maintenance in September.
However, now that the pool has closed months earlier than expected, the town may be able to skip the fall shutdown if both the maintenance and sealant work can be completed this summer.
Inuvik’s pool remained closed from the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic until March this year. The initial closure was drastically prolonged by difficulties carrying out a major overhaul of the facility.
