All programming for the Maple Ridge Aquatic Centre is cancelled for Friday evening and Saturday. The pool may reopen for recreational swimming on Saturday afternoon once the City of Maple Ridge has a sign off from the Structural Engineer.
As noted in our earlier message, a section of pipe that was used to carry storm water from the roof of the southwest section of the pool facility fell onto the pool deck sometime last night. The full pool area was closed down as of 7:30 am. Staff and contractors have been working throughout the day to complete the necessary repairs.
A Structural Engineer was retained to inspect the damage and determine the cause of the pipe bracket failure and to make recommendations on the scope of repairs necessary to ensure that the facility is certified as safe to reopen.
The Engineer identified the cause of the problem, a leaking roof drain, which had allowed water to travel along an insulated metal pipe and corrode a bracket over a long period of time. That bracket failed last night resulting in two sections of pipe hitting the pool deck some time during the night.
Currently this storm water drain pipe is being replaced with an ABS (plastic) pipe, which is much lighter in weight and will be equally effective in conveying the water from the roof to the storm drain. In addition, as a precaution, some additional brackets of a similar design are also being replaced in another area of the pool roof. A roofing contractor will also be inspecting and repairing the roof drains to ensure that they are functioning as designed. All of the work is expected to be completed later this evening, and the Structural Engineer will inspect the repair work and provide their final approval to reopen the facility.
Once the City receives that approval, we will reopen the facility to the public. The investigation of the cause and repairs has been our highest priority today, and we are working to get the facility open as soon as we can.
Our customer service staff will be reaching out to patrons who have registered for programs to ensure that we reschedule the times or offer refunds as is appropriate. At this time it looks like everything will be back to full operation with regular programs on Sunday. We will post the pool opening information online and on social media.
You can follow the City on Facebook and Twitter with the account names ’YourMapleRidge.’ there are links on the City website at mapleridge.ca so you can like and follow us.
Thank you for your patience. We will provide further updates as any additional information becomes available.