Pipework re-lining causes delay to opening of refurbished Rotorua Aquatic Centre

Rotorua Lakes Council has advised of delays to the opening of the refurbished Rotorua Aquatic Centre due to a requirement for pipework re-lining.

The indoor facility was due to reopen early May having closed in November 2022 for stage two of the centre’s $23.45 million refurbishment which included an upgrade to the indoor pool hall, reception and indoor changing room area.

The outdoor 50-metre pool and outdoor changing facilities were refurbished in stage one, which cost $3.9 million and were finished in 2021.

The Centre - which has the only outdoor heated 50 metre pool in New Zealand (with natural geothermal resources used for heating purposes) - caters for local, regional and national aquatic sports, and provides recreational, health, fitness and leisure programmes and services and attracts more than 350,000 visits per year with the ‘learn to swim’ programme teaching more than 67,000 lessons annually.

Council has been working with the Aquatic Centre’s management company CLM as well as pool users and community members to ensure the upgrades meet the needs of the people of Rotorua.

Once complete, the upgrades to the pool will have included lengthening and an increased depth of 1.4 metres which will meet International Swimming Federations depth standards. It will also have a movable bulkhead which can be shifted to create two 25 metre pools.

The pool will also be more accessibility friendly with the installation of a PoolPod accessibility lift which automatically lowers swimmers straight into the pool.

In a statement released this week, Rotorua Lakes Council said issues with some of the original buried pipework under both pools had been identified during inspections, adding a couple of additional weeks to the project timeline.

The statement noted “Specialist contractors have been brought in to insert linings into the pipes, which will allow them to continue to supply water to the pools for years to come.

“Due to the complexity of re-lining buried pipes, it is not completely known how long the entire process will take but it is anticipated the indoor facility will now reopen in a staged approach.”

The council said contractors would complete the pipework re-lining of the leisure pool first so this, along with full changing room facilities, was now expected to open in early June with the main pool expected to open in late June.

Rotorua Lakes Council’s group manager Infrastructure and Environment, Stavros Michael, said the indoor facility reopening had been highly anticipated by the community.

“We are excited to be able to reopen the facility again soon. The procurement of project management and design work on Stage Three is also under way.

“Although this additional work will mean the opening is delayed by a couple of weeks, we want to ensure that we do it right to deliver a revitalised facility our community can be proud of.”

The  statement added ”due to the nature of the project, the full extent of the pipework’s condition could not be understood until the indoor roof works and scaffolding removal were completed in late February and retesting of pipework could be completed.

“Further testing showed the existing pipework had degraded since original testing was done in 2022.

“Council reviewed several options to remediate the affected pipes, with pipework re-lining deemed the most practical, cost-effective approach that allows the pools to be reopened as soon as possible.”

The outdoor 50 metre heated pool remains open.

Stage three of the project could include hydro slide, bomb pool and an improved cafe and gym but was dependent on future external funding and subject to final council decisions.

Images. Credit: Rotorua Lakes Council