BCM says pools will be filled by month's end

The five pools at Joan Harrison will be open to the public in three weeks, said Buffalo City Metro (BCM) yesterday.

City spokesman Sibusiso Cindi said the pipes and fittings for the main and diving pools would be repaired and all five pools would have their plumbing upgraded and old underground pipes dug up and replaced.

BCM would also see to it that broken paving, tiles and railings were replaced.

The complex closed on June 1, and 91 days later, on Tuesday, the Dispatch visited the complex and saw the only visible work being done was to the main pool.

There was little sign of other work and the complex looked downbeat.

However, Cindi said the Joan Harrison complex would reopen on September 23 and critical maintenance would have been completed.

He listed the work to be done as:

lRepairs and replacing of piping and fittings to and from the main pool and diving pool;

lUpgrading of plumbing and excavation to repair and replace old underground piping;

lLevelling and replacing of paving around all pools;

lRepairs and maintenance of the filtration plant room;

lRemoving and replacing old balustrades or railings and paving of the baby pool; and

lGrouting and replacing of broken tiles within the pools.

Also covered by the “current work in progress” were repairing nuts on diving boards, working on the seven heaters, damaged steps, water polo nets and coping slabs.

There is a question mark over the seven heaters because on Tuesday BCM municipal manager Nceba Ncunyana publicly withdrew an August 2015 tender calling for contractors to replace the heaters.

Asked why it took a year to publish the notice of cancellation, Cindi, replying late yesterday, said: “There are internal processes that need to be adhered to before a cancellation advert is issued.”

Asked about the logic of draining the pools soon after the June 1 closure, Cindi said: “The above-mentioned work cannot be done with water in the pools.”

Veteran swim coach and anti-corruption campaigner Joe Hillstrom said it was a sad waste that the pools were drained the moment they were closed for maintenance.

“About seven million litres of good water go down the drain.”

Hillstrom said the pools were built in a swamp area “and when empty they tend to float and start to crack”.

Buffalo City Aquatics (BCA) president Ian Schulein said he had asked critics like Hillstrom to channel their complaints through BCA, but Hillstrom countered saying the BCA represented amateur sport and their administrators did not work professionally at the complex every day and see and experience what he did.

Schulein told the Dispatch they were happy to let BCM go ahead and make the repairs this year, as they had big events lined up for next year and wanted the complex to be at its best.