Residents in Fort St. John can once again enjoy the leisure pool and waterslides at the North Peace Leisure Pool after the facility reopened Thursday morning, earlier than initially expected.
The City of Fort St. John announced repairs to a circulation pump were completed ahead of schedule, allowing the leisure pool to reopen at 6 a.m. Thursday.
The facility had been temporarily closed after staff discovered significant internal corrosion in the pump during routine monitoring.
According to the city, pool operations staff noticed unusual pressure readings and performance issues before removing the equipment from service as a precaution.
Officials said the early detection helped prevent a larger failure that could have affected other critical systems, including filtration, heating and water treatment equipment.
“The diligence of our maintenance staff allowed us to identify this issue before it became a much larger problem,” said Kylah Bryde, the City of Fort St. John’s director of community services. “Their quick response helped protect the facility and ensure the safety of both staff and facility users.”
When the closure was announced, city officials said repairs were expected to take approximately two weeks. However, crews were able to finish the work sooner than anticipated, reducing the impact on swimmers and families who use the facility during the summer months.
The city says it will continue assessing related equipment and reviewing maintenance schedules in an effort to prevent similar issues in the future.
Officials also noted the incident highlights the challenges of maintaining aging aquatic infrastructure, with many of the facility’s core mechanical systems approaching the end of their service life.
Apart from the temporary closure of the leisure pool and waterslides, the remainder of the facility remained open throughout the repair period.