Northern Lights Aquatic Centre Receives Overhaul

Slave Lake, Alberta (February 22, 2021): Over the course of the fall and winter, the Northern Lights Aquatic Centre in Slave Lake has been undergoing a major pool infrastructure overhaul. These renovations and improvements will benefit the long-term operation of the facility, increase energy efficiency, and enhance the experience of community members.

The improvements include the replacement of the boiler systems and ancillary equipment, along with renovations to the adjoining change rooms. Two new boilers have been installed, along with two new heat exchangers for heating the pool water. The change rooms, which were previously supplied with hot water piped from the far end of the building, now have dedicated hot water tanks installed in close proximity to the change rooms, providing a consistent, more efficient hot water supply.

Further to the systems overhaul, the Town of Slave Lake and Northern Lakes College are sharing costs to make significant improvements to the change rooms. Community members will enjoy new stall partitions, countertops, sinks, and enhanced safety features such as LED waterproof lighting. New change stalls and a privacy shower stall have been added to both change rooms. The walls and ceilings are receiving a fresh coat of paint, and cracked floor parging is being cut out, replaced, releveled, and resurfaced.

While some supply line delays have been experienced, primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NLC Senior Director of Facilities & Ancillary Services, Paul Chaulk, reports, “We are happy to inform the community that we are nearing the end of the renovation project. The construction and cleaning phase of the project will be complete in early March. After that, we will turn the facility over to Town of Slave Lake personnel to start filling the pool and prepare for programming according to their timelines.”

The Town of Slave Lake operates the pool for community use and after the projects are completed, will need to operationalize the facility. It is important that all staff meet certifying standards. As staff have been laid off since March 2020, the Town will be focusing on rehiring & retraining staff to ensure that they are fully certified and can provide a safe environment for our customers. This must be done following all COVID-19 guidelines as well.

“When the facility relaunches,” says Garry Roth, Town of Slave Lake Director of Community Services, “we want to provide a safe swim environment for our community, which includes certified well-trained staff who are able to operate the pool within the COVID-19 guidelines.” The Town is targeting being open to public by May 01, 2021.

Located at the Northern Lakes College Slave Lake Campus, the Northern Lights Aquatic Centre is administered by the Town of Slave Lake and maintained by Northern Lakes College.

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