Old South not ready to throw in the towel on Thames Park Pool

Though city staff are reluctantly recommending its closure, many Londoners are hoping council can find a way to save Thames Park Pool. 

An online petition calling for the Old South pool to stay open had amassed 1,500 signatures by Friday.

Meanwhile, neighbourhood Facebook groups are buzzing with disappointment about the prospect of losing their much-loved pool. 

"Why would that ever be considered?" asked Janet Craig on the Old South Community Board."It will be a terrific loss for Old South." 

Swimmer Maggie Mac Neil, a London native who trained at Thames Park Pool before becoming a multi-medal winning Olympian, implored council to keep it open. 

"I love Thames Pool," she said in a statement to CBC News. "Pools are so important, and it's not just about competitive swimming. It's about water safety, healthy lifestyles and bringing people together. I did my swimming lessons and Lifesaving there. It's in an area of London that needs it and in the summer there's always people there, whether that's family swim or diving. 

"I don't think we should throw in the towel on Thames Pool."

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.

And while the prospect of losing it is painful, a staff report coming to council's community and protective services committee on Tuesday argues that its location on a floodplain will forever leave it vulnerable to expensive repairs to fix water damage. 

The problem, according to findings in the report, is the area's high water table. Often the soil around the pool deck stays wet. When wet earth freezes and expands, it can crack the pool's tank and piping. 

"It is clear from the history of repairs and investigations completed, that Thames Pool has experienced significant and repeated infrastructure damage due to its location in the floodplain," the report says. 

The pool was built in 1927 and rebuilt in 2010. However since then, the city has made the following repairs due to water damage: 

The report lays out a handful of repair options going forward, including building a site well to "monitor ground water conditions" and adding ports to relieve the underground water pressure. That would cost about $375,000. A more involved version of that repair would add new wall returns and a thicker concrete pool pad. That option would cost $800,000 and take eight months. 

The options presented in the report ramp up to a full rebuild, which would take 18 months and cost $12 million.