Stadium pool a week away from reopening

PRESIDENT OF the Aquatic Sports Association of Jamaica (ASAJ), Martin Lyn, is expecting the National Stadium pool to be reopened for use in another week, following the closure over a week ago, due to what he calls an unfortunate series of events.

Lyn was also pleased to announce that the new pumps, which the Government had promised in June, have now been ordered and are due to arrive in the island soon.

“Now that the new pumps have been ordered, things are looking on the bright side. We anticipate that once those pumps come, most of our problems will be behind us,” he said.

The installation of the pumps will not impact the running of the pool, Lyn said, indicating it would be done in stages over no more than three days.

“We will install the pump as soon as it arrives in Jamaica. I cannot give a time now, but once we get it physically within two to three days we can install it.

“So things are looking up for the early part of the new year, and we are very thankful that the overall quality of the pool will be better, and the cost of running the new pumps will be much less,” he added.

FILTRATION PROBLEM

The facility was ordered closed by stadium facility manager Raymond Hall because of a discolouration of the water, which was put down to a filtration problem.

According to Lyn, the ASAJ’s supply of powdered chlorine had run dry and would not be available until mid-January.

That problem was solved by using a gas chlorination method, which takes longer to take effect.

“The first thing that occurred was the lack of powdered chlorine, but that didn’t trouble the quality of the water, as the Ministry of Health [and Wellness] was there and they approved it and all the testing was done, so we were fine.

“However, the gas chlorination does not clear up the colour of the water as quickly as we would like; and for the powdered chlorine, our suppliers indicated they will not be getting any until the middle of January.

“So in the meantime, we are working with the gas chlorination system,” he said.

Lyn further went on to explain that not long after finding a solution to the chlorination issue, the pumps also developed mechanical problems.

“The motor system failed and then, one of the bushings that had been depreciated over many years of use,needed replacing.

“So there were three items that failed almost simultaneously.

“If it were just one, we could have sort of band-aided it and moved on. But we could not deal with all three at the same time, so we closed the pool so we could work on it seriously, and that is what we have been doing over the Christmas holidays,” he said.

The issues forced the ASAJ to bring a halt to the four-day Christmas Open Swimming Championships in the middle of the competition.

The pool, he said, would once again be fully operational in another week.

“We have been working to ensure that it is up and running, and I can say that we should be able to do it in a week, a week and a half,” he said.

livingston.scott@gleanerjm.com