The roll-out plan began at one of Cape Town’s oldest swimming pool facilities, Newlands swimming pools, which should open soon.
The swimming pool is more than 60 years old and therefore required a number of infrastructure repairs.
In a few weeks, the swimming pool will be able to reopen its waters to the public, after being closed for nearly five years.
Patricia Van Der Ross, from the Western Cape Community Services and Health, stated that Newlands swimming pool had many “structural deficiencies” which required a structural engineer to explain the extent of the damages and what the repairs would entail.
Due to the ageing of the pool, many damages needed to be fixed before looking into the operational aspect and opening of the pool.
With a total of 35 public swimming pools in Cape Town, the city stated that its mission is to expand services available to the community.
“We need to weigh up the pros and cons [by asking] is this what we want to offer our community, is it safe to offer to our community, do we want our community to swim in unsafe pools? The answer is no, so although we have invested a lot, it’s going to have a bigger outcome and a bigger benefit to our communities,” said Van Der Ross.
The revamp at Newlands swimming pool came to R22 million.
Van Der Ross understands that R22 million is a large sum of money that needed to be spent on the pool, however, believes that it was money well spent because they will not need further upgrades in the next couple of years.
According to Van Der Ross, the costs included the restructuring and refurbishing of the basin, laying of the foundation, installation of pipes, and ablution facilities, which will ensure a safer environment for the community and schools to enjoy.
The city has stated that it has revamped around six swimming pools in Athlone, Ravensmead and Newlands. Next, the city plans to work on the Elsies River pool.
