2 options floated to keep Thames Pool operating but both have cost and risk

London city council will consider two options to repair the Thames Park Pool, but neither would see the much-loved pool re-open for swimming until the 2025 season at the earliest. 

City staff released the two pool options today in a report that will be considered by council's community and protective services committee on Tuesday. 

Option One: $1.92 million. Basic repairs to the underfloor piping to make the pool operable again, plus the installation of hydrostatic relief ports and a weeping tile and site drain to monitor and mitigate ground water levels.

Option Two: $2.3 million.  Similar to Option 1 except rather than install the return piping under the slab they would be installed under the pool deck and enter at the pool walls.

Neither repair option can be done in time to open the pool for the 2024 swim season, the report says. The earliest the pool could reopen would be 2025 and any problems with weather or scheduling a contractor could push back the reopening to 2026, the report says. Both options are "like-for-like" repairs, which would allow the pool to reopen, but with no new upgrades. 

The report also says even if the repairs are done, the site's high water table and penchant for flooding pose risks that new problems could crop up that would require other expensive fixes. 

"The risks to infrastructure located in a flood plain can be mitigated through various measures but never completely eliminated," the report says. 

The pool became a political hot potato at city hall in spring, when a staff report recommended it be decommissioned and not rebuilt on that site because of Thames Park's problematic soil conditions. The pool didn't open last year due to cracks in the pool deck and damaged plumbing. 

In the face of fierce pushback from Old South residents who didn't want to see the pool close, council voted to ask staff to come up with costed repair opens to keep the pool open. 

An appendix to the staff report includes a recommendation from the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority that the city seek another location for the pool, one that's not located in a floodplain. 

Coun. Skylar Franke, whose Ward includes the pool and the Old South neighbourhood it serves, said she supports the more expensive repair option to keep the pool operating a few more seasons while a new pool location can be found. 

"I know that it's unpopular but this might be our last big investment in the Thames Park Pool in its current location," she said. "Based on what I head from the community, they desperately want a pool somewhere within walking and biking distance downtown and Old South. I'm hopeful we can have that vision in mind and find a solution." 

Fifty meters long with eight swimming lanes, Thames Pool is the largest and most well-used of London's 11 outdoor pools. About 25,000 people use it each year.

The two options will come before council at Tuesday's meeting of the strategic priorities and policy committee.