Entire Geraldton Aquarena to be closed for three weeks due to unforeseen complications, scheduled maintenance

Geraldton’s aquatic centre is out of action for at least three weeks after the double whammy of an unexpected mechanical issue coincided with planned maintenance. The Geraldton Aquarena will be closed to the public from Monday, March 16 to Tuesday, April 7. In an alert issued on Wednesday, the City of Greater Geraldton said the outdoor pool, indoor pools and cafe would be unavailable to the public during the shutdown period. The closure was originally meant to only impact the use of indoor pools due to scheduled refurbishment of the building’s mechanical ventilation system. However, due to unseen complications with the mechanics in the outdoor pool’s pipeline system in February, the 50m pool will also be off-limits to the public. A $6 million refurbishment of the outdoor pool was completed in late 2023. Fiona Norling, City of Greater Geraldton acting CEO, said repairs on the outdoor pool were “currently under way” and were estimated to be completed by April 7 — before the completion of the indoor pools’ refurbishment. Works on the indoor facilities are set to be finished by May. “The replacement of the Aquarena’s end-of-life mechanical ventilation system was planned for term one to ensure the community could continue accessing the outdoor pool throughout the works,” Ms Norling said. Yet, this had not worked out to be the case. In its statement issued to the Geraldton community, the city acknowledged the importance of the Aquarena and said it appreciated the community’s patience while the maintenance was carried out. Ms Norling said these works reflected the council’s commitment to investing in recreation infrastructure to support current and future needs. “The short-term inconvenience to the community is unfortunate, however public safety is always paramount and we are working hard to get the Aquarena back up and running as soon as possible,” she said.