Teething problems at new Amberley Pool

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from Northern Outlook

By DAVID HILL Local Democracy Reporter

The Amberley Mainpower Pool has been experiencing some unexpected teething problems in its first full season of operation.

A technical fault on Christmas Eve and a high demand for season passes has caused some headaches for council staff, Hurunui District Council pool manager Naomi Woodham says.

The new pool opened for just one month last season, but is expected to operate for a full six month season until April.

A malfunction in the plant room on Christmas Eve saw the closure of the pool over the Christmas/New Year period, while the council waited to source replacement parts.

‘‘We had technicians out as soon as we could,’’ Woodham said.
‘‘We were going to be closed anyway, so we didn’t lost time to the general public, only to our members (season pass holders).’’

Residents have taken to social media to vent their frustrations at not being able to access the pool in the early morning or evening.

But Woodham said the council had the weigh up the extra cost of employing lifeguards from 6am to 9am and 6pm to 8pm.

‘‘We felt it wasn’t worth putting on life guards just for two or three hours, so we looked at different models.

‘‘The pool doesn’t make money, it is subsidised by the ratepayer.’’

They opted for a model based on Lyttelton Pool, offering season passes for $125 (plus a $10 bond) to regular users to use the pool between 6am and 9am and 6pm to 8pm.

‘‘We thought we might get 20 to 30 people, but it went crazy with the numbers,’’ she said.

‘‘It is full in the morning, so we had to put a cap on it.’’

Season passes for the five-lane pool have been capped at under 100 for lane swimming and aqua jogging.

The season pass holders were required to go through a health and safety briefing and were given lessons on how to take the cover off the pool and place it back on.

And there must be at least two people at the pool at all times.

‘‘Our members are great. They treat it like it is their own pool and they look after each other.’’

Woodham said there have also been complaints about the chlorine levels and water temperatures.

‘‘We’ve had some complaints from parents about the chlorine being too strong in the toddlers’ pool. We test it every hour and we’ve been keeping the chlorine level low, so it’s never been unsafe.’’

She said it was hard to find a balance, as some people preferred higher temperatures, but others said it was too hot.

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