Swimming pools are essential community facilities as swimming and water safety skills are crucial for a region that has so much water. Southland has 48 swimming pools, most of which are on school land. However, many of those are jointly used and operated by schools and community groups. Only three are run professionally, by the Invercargill and Gore Councils respectively.
In the past years Venture Southland has been involved with several community groups managing swimming pools and it has become obvious there are several common challenges facing these groups. Pools are very expensive and involved facilities to maintain and run, and many communities, particularly the smaller and more isolated ones, are struggling with keeping their pools operating. The main challenges are maintenance and capital development, cost of heating, increased compliance requirements (such as in supervision), change of demographics (fewer school age children, more older people) and decreasing levels of volunteerism.
Western Southland Community Swimming Pool Audit
Venture community development planner Diana Zadravec said Venture Southland commissioned the Western Southland Swimming Pool Audit, which included pools in Otautau, Riverton, Ohai, Tuatapere, and Blackmount, in October 2007. The Fiordland Community Swimming Pool in Te Anau was also audited. The auditors looked at all aspects of the pool operations - buildings, plant, operations, health and safety and financial. Aims of the audits were to:
- To determine the current physical state of the facility and estimate future maintenance and capital work and cost.
- To analyse current operation, use, partnerships and financial situation.
- To identify challenges, areas of improvement and opportunities in the above areas that would assist the pools to operate as a viable and sustainable facility fulfilling the needs of the user community now and in the future.
- To provide comprehensive information that will assist stakeholders to make decisions in regards to this facility.
Five reports - for Riverton, Fiordland, Tuatapere, Otautau and Takitimu pools - have been published, with the last to be finished soon. The groups said the audit information has assisted them with assessing how they operate and addressing some issues they were not previously aware of.
Assistance for pool managing groups
Venture has been working with swimming pool groups and can source and provide information to assist as many pool managing groups, both school and community, as possible. For the last three years Venture Southland organised a NZQA water treatment course in conjunction with Splash Palace. Over 45 people from some 22 pools attended these courses so far. The course fees have been subsidised by grants from Southland District Council and the Community Trust of Southland.
“Feedback from the participants was great, as it is difficult and expensive to get access to such courses in Southland. We hope such courses can be run locally also in the future and possibly also Life Guard training,” said Ms Zadravec.
Venture has also contracted a law firm to develop a template hire contract for key holders and hirers of the pool which covers some liabilities involved. This will assist pool managing groups to achieve standards/increasing compliance requirements. Pool groups have to address various issues such as health and safety, supervision and insurance and must not be casual over these requirements, Ms Zadravec said. Another area of research is heating options as heating is the biggest ongoing cost for most pools.
“Venture Southland would like to see the groups operating pools to form associations, perhaps regionally, which would allow them to co-operate, solve problems together and buy bulk chemicals, for example,” Ms Zadravec said.
It is really important for communities to use and get involved with running their pools if they want to keep them as a small band of volunteers is often not enough. It is important not to take local swimming pools for granted, they are a luxury.
Pool managing groups that would like to be informed of any future initiatives can contact Diana Zadravec at Venture Southland.