A summertime staple in Old South may not return until 2026 - if it returns at all.
The pool has been closed since 2019 due to construction, the pandemic and flooding damage the pool has endured due to its proximity to the Thames River.
A new report heading to council's Community and Protective Services Committee outlines two options for keeping the pool open - one that costs $1.92-million. The other, the one that the city's aquatic design and engineering consultants prefer, would cost $2.23-million.
However, the plans come with pitfalls.
One is that construction, weather delays and supply chair issues could mean that the pool doesn't re-open to swimmers until the summer of 2026.
The other is that there are no guarantees the repairs actually keep the pool open for a significant amount of time.
"No, we don't have any assurances. It is basic mitigation that we are putting in place. There are no assurances given the groundwater on that site and potential flooding risks in the future," said city treasurer Anna Lisa Borbon during a media technical briefing on the pool on Wednesday.
As for timelines, city staffers say several factors could delay the pool's re-opening - if council decides to go ahead with it.
"If conditions end up being significantly unfavorable, that could create delays. There is a risk it would not be open in 2025," Borbon said. "If all goes great with respect to weather and the ability to complete the work and the availability of resources to complete the work, then it is possible that the work can be completed for 2025. It is a risk that it may not be completed in time."
Thames Pool has been operating since 1927 - with major rebuilds in 1959, 1975, and 2010.
Before it was shut down, there were upwards of 25,000 visits to the pool each year. However, flooding has caused significant damage to the pool and the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority has "strongly recommended" that the pool be decommissioned and moved outside of the flood plain.
An estimate to build a new pool elsewhere in the city was roughly $12-million.
"At this time, we don't have any explicit direction to explore the construction of a new pool," said the city's Director of Recreation and Sport Jon-Paul McGonigle. "I don't think that precludes that conversation happening in the future should council so wish."
City staff have not provided any recommendation for next week's meeting.
"The council direction in April was to report back on options to repair the pool, so that is what we have provided. The consultant has provided a recommendation from their expertise," said Borbon. "But certainly staff's recommendation that was put forward in April was to not proceed [with repairing the pool].
