YORKTON - Yorkton Council approved a tender at its regular meeting Monday to see a Park UV & Filtration Replacement Project move forward this summer.
The Access Communications Water Park was significantly upgraded during the Gallagher Centre renovation project in the early 2000’s, explained Taylor Morrison, Director of Recreation & Community Services with the city.
“Up until late 2024, the bulk of the water treatment was completed via ozone, which regularly cleaned and sanitized the almost 1,000,000 litres of water within the water park,” said Morrison. “. . . Over recent years the maintenance costs for the ozone generator continued to rise, as parts became harder to source and in some cases were unavailable all together.”
Then, late in 2024 the ozone system went offline and was unable to be repaired.
This has resulted in an increase to the pool chemicals used to meet Public Health requirements for water treatment, resulting in increased operational cost, offered Morrison.
In general, Morrison said, there has been a shift in the aquatic industry away from ozone filtration, moving more towards ultra violet light (UV) to achieve the same results.
In addition, “Prior to being sanitized, the water passes through six media filters which remove particulates from within the water. Having been installed roughly 20 years ago, these systems are now in need of replacement . . .
“Similar to the ozone generator, the filters have reached the end of their life expectancy and need to be replaced, as breakdowns and repairs are becoming more prevalent, which risks the water park not meeting the Public Health requirements for operation.”
The Water Park UV and Filtration Replacement Project was approved through the 2024/2025 capital budget with an estimated budget of $1,485,000.00.
The project went to tender, and while the bid was accessed by 21 different firms, with eight companies attending the mandatory site meeting on March 4, only one tender was received.
The tender from Ful-Flo Industries Ltd. was for $1,164,764.92, excluding taxes.
The tender was approved by Council.
The work will take place this summer, said Morrison.
“The work is scheduled to occur during the regular, bi-annual maintenance shutdown occurring at the water park this year in addition to other shutdown work such as tile replacement, preventative maintenance on pumps and plumbing equipment, deep cleaning of surfaces, and other regular maintenance,” he said.
“However, due to the scope of the filtration project, the shutdown is planned to be a little bit longer than the usual closure. Shutdown is currently scheduled to start on July 28th, with the first day back in the pool being October 3rd, barring any delays or issues.”
