Vancouver's Kitsilano Pool is leaking 30,000 litres of water every hour

A few swimmers are seen at Kitsilano Pool on Monday, July 13, 2020.

Vancouver’s busiest outdoor pool has a problem.

Kitsilano Pool is leaking 30,000 litres of water per hour while in operation through its damaged recirculation pipes, a presentation to the Park Board revealed this week. That’s 500 litres flowing out of the pool every minute.

“It is not a typo. It’s a hard number to wrap your head around,” associate director of facilities planning Matt Halverson told the board at Monday's meeting.

He said the amount of water lost daily would fill a 25 metre, eight-lane pool that’s 1.5 metres deep.

It’s unknown exactly where the leaks are coming from, but initial scoping uncovered multiple instances of shearing and breakage in the pipes below the pool, the report to the Park Board said.

Another unknown is where the water is going.

“Staff cannot confirm exactly where the all of the leaking water from Kits Pool is going, but some does eventually make its way to the ocean,” a Park Board spokesperson told CTV News in an email. They added the “exact pathways” of the leaks are under investigation.

“While the pool is in operation, de-chlorination tablets are added daily during operational months to prevent deleterious material from entering the environment,” the spokesperson continued.

In addition to the water loss, slab uplift and cracking in the pool are issues that require constant repairs, Halverson said.

Because of its age—the pool opened in 1931—and damage suffered during storms, a condition assessment of the Kits Pool this year determined the asset to be at the end of its life, the Park Board learned.

“This is a devastating report,” Park Board Commissioner Tom Digby said after the presentation. “We’re at the end of life on the Kits Pool.”

The pool underwent a major renovation in 2018—which cost $3.3 million and was the first major work done on it since the '70s—to make it more energy efficient and reduce leaks. The work was supposed to extend the pool’s life, but a King Tide event in January 2022 reversed that progress, Halverson said.

“It takes a lot of abuse just due to its location,” he explained.

That King Tide event can be blamed for the current significant water loss, the Park Board spokesperson said, but the board "cannot be sure when the leaking initially started.” They said the pool’s '70s-era water supply piping will be investigated in the coming months to find out how much damage was done in the 2022 storm.

Meanwhile, “technical specialists have come to the conclusion that Kits Pool will not be reliably operational going forward. This will mean possible impacts for the 2024 outdoor pool season,” the spokesperson said.

And a fix may not be coming for swimmers anytime soon.

There is no funding in the current capital plan for the Kits Pool beyond regular maintenance, the presentation continued. Staff will be conducting a feasibility study to determine what should be done with the pool, which could be a renewal, but that money can’t come until the 2027-2030 capital plan. And the funding for the feasibility study can’t be secured until the mid-term update in 2024.

In the meantime, Steve Kellock, director of recreational services, said staff will do “everything we can do to continue the operation, as we plan in parallel for the long-term future for the Kitsilano pool.”

But the clock is ticking for the beloved facility. “There’s a risk of failure at any time,” Halverson said.

The 137-metre pool is the longest saltwater pool in North America. Kits Pool opened late in the season due to repairs this year, but it still saw 120,373 visitors, according to Park Board statistics.