Pool water warms up after $60,000 pump replacement

Denis Garner from the Bay of Islands Swimming Club, shows what the temperature at the Kawakawa pool was at 4pm on Friday (19C). He's delighted a heat pump at the pool will finally be replaced.

Great news, but about time - that's the response from the Bay of Islands Amateur Swimming Club after news that $60,000 would be spent replacing a broken heat pump at the Kawakawa pubic pool that has driven club members away.

Club committee member and events committee member on Swimming Northland Denis Garner said pool users were delighted that the pump would finally be replaced at Kawakawa's Te Papawai Bay of Islands Community Pool after it failed in April.

Mr Garner said the club had lost about 30 per cent of its members since then as the water became too cold for many to practise, particularly younger members.

"We're very happy about it being replaced, and it should solve our issues, but we're disappointed it's taken so long," Mr Garner said.

"We have children that are competing at a national level and going to the AIMS Games and others going to the national secondary school champs so it's very important we keep to our training regime.

"We're very pleased about it, but it's about time really."

But already the cold water temperature has caused the club to cancel a major event, the Swimming Northland presentation carnival.

"We were to hold it in the pool because that's the half way point between all the [Swimming Northland] clubs, but uncertainty over when, or if, the pump would be replaced meant we had to make the decision to host it in Whangarei on July 2," Mr Garner said.

The Far North District Council and Kawakawa Business and Community Association will stump up nearly $60,000 to replace the broken heat pump.

The heat pump - one of two heating the pool - stopped working weeks ago at the facility, which is the district's only council-operated public heated pool. The water temperature has since dropped to around 20C when it should be 27C or above.

This has seen many regular pool users, especially the elderly and children learning to swim, stop using the pool.

The association will contribute $5000, another $5000 will come from the Mayoral Fund and the council will pay the balance.

FNDC chief executive Shaun Clarke said finding a solution was not straightforward because the pool is owned by Bay of Islands College, while the land is owned by the Ministry of Education. Neither organisation had funds for a new heat pump.

"Even though Far North District Council does not own the pool, we know how important this facility is to Kawakawa and the wider community with people from Moerewa, Opua, Paihia and even further afield regularly using it," Mr Clarke said.

The new pump is being ordered and should be installed in about a month.