Regina’s oldest pool held its grand reopening on Tuesday morning after it received a makeover over the last number of months.
The revamped Maple Leaf Pool in the city’s Heritage neighbourhood has a new look which includes a zero-depth entry pool with handrails, wayfinding braille on all signage and lifts at the edge of the pool to provide full accessibility for its users. The pool’s L-shape design helps ensure swimmers of different abilities are better separated to create a safer experience.
Mayor Sandra Masters attended the pool’s reopening event. She said this project shows how important it is to provide a facility for recreation, which also acts as a safe space for the community.
“It’s vitally important for neighbourhoods which maybe don’t have those aspects elsewhere in their life,” said Masters. “I just hope everyone enjoys this pool for what it was intended for, and that they value water and its meaning to us.”
Today is the grand opening of the newly rebuilt Maple Leaf Pool! Lilla Fayant and Victor Robertson are the first people to jump into the revamped pool. #Regina #YQR pic.twitter.com/gK0LW3gbA1
— Moises Canales (@MoisesCanalesJr) June 22, 2021
The pool also houses a state-of-the-art water filtration system which reduces water consumption by 90 per cent. Solar panels at the facility will generate enough electricity to cover about half the pool’s needs and saves $5,600 annually.
City Manager Chris Holden added it’s also now a saltwater facility which requires less chlorine for the pool.
“This saltwater technology is not as harsh as chlorine, but there’s still a certain amount of chlorine that is used,” he explained. “It just provides a better bather experience and it treats the water to make sure contaminants are removed and its safe.”
It was over two years ago when the city was considering permanently closing the aging pool, but residents from the neighbourhood helped sway council to rebuild the pool instead.
Lilla Fayant, now a Grade 8 student at Connaught School, was one of those residents who pleaded with the city to reconsider closing the facility. Now that it’s reopened to the public, Fayant said she’s happy to see her perseverance paid off.
“I’ve loved swimming my whole life and this pool was the perfect place for me to swim,” shared Fayant. “I have so many fond memories of the old pool and I’m so excited to make new memories at this pool with my friends and family.”
The project, which began in March 2020, was completed at a cost of $5.3 million.
