The Sportsplex pool has three insulated natural gas commercial water heaters that supply hot water to the change room shows and sinks, lifeguard room, lobby washrooms, and the concession. The heater that died was installed in 2014.
Mosaic Place isn’t the only city-owned venue with equipment breaking down, as the Kinsmen Sportsplex pool needs a new hot water heater after that machine failed recently.
During its Feb. 28 regular meeting, city council unanimously approved the allocation of $16,500 from the facilities building reserve account in this year’s parks and recreation capital budget to replace the water heater at the recreation venue.
The Sportsplex pool has three insulated natural gas commercial water heaters that supply hot water to the change room shows and sinks, lifeguard room, lobby washrooms, and the concession, explained director Derek Blais.
The units have lifespans of 10 years and come with five-year warranties. The unit that failed — it died the week of Feb. 14 — was installed in May 2014 and is almost eight years old. The other two units were replaced in 2019 and 2020.
“They are sealed units, and only visual inspections and repairs are completed on the exterior components or connections,” said Blais. “Any internal issues with these tanks typically require replacement of the entire unit.”
The Sportsplex’s hot water system is similar to residential water heaters where they hold heated liquid to a set temperature, he continued. These three commercial units are in a chain, and as one tank empties — all three are used during high-use periods — the system switches to the next one as the empty unit refills with fresh water and the heating process begins again.
The parks and recreation department received three quotes for a replacement unit and awarded the project to the lowest bidder, Blais said. The new unit has already arrived from Calgary and — because of the nature of the emergency — was installed on Feb. 21.
Blais added that the department expects the other two water heaters to fail in 2029 and 2030, respectively. Therefore, it could increase annual contributions to the reserve budget account to ensure sufficient funding is available for these mechanical breakdowns.
Coun. Heather Eby supported the parks department using money from the reserve account to pay for this repair.
“It’s why the reserve is there. If the director feels it’s necessary to increase that amount annually, I have no problem with that,” she said. “I think it’s great that we have this money set aside.”
Council just dealt with a similar issue at Mosaic Place where one of its boilers blew up, said Coun. Doug Blanc. He thought council and city administration needed to review the components they were purchasing and determine whether they were buying the right products.
Coun. Kim Robinson agreed.
“If it’s all the boilers and hot water tanks failing, I suggest we look at the water. Perhaps there’s a way to condition it,” he said. “In reality, that’s all that’s going to make a boiler or hot water heater (break down), especially these ones (at the Sportsplex) with no internal maintenance.”
The next regular council meeting is Monday, March 14.
