Citizens upset Weyburn pool project moving forward without community engagement

Weyburn residents are concerned about the city’s new pool facility design including one pool tank instead of two. (Sierra D'Souza Butts / CTV News)

Plans for a new indoor pool facility are underway in Weyburn. However, residents are worried the design for the proposed $30 million project is moving ahead without insight from the community.

The City of Weyburn is planning to build a new single-basin indoor aquatics facility within its $30 million budget.

The project comes after the community’s current Weyburn Leisure Centre was unable to open in 2024, and has been closed since, due to the pool deteriorating 10 to 15 years prior to its expected lifecycle, according to the city’s website.

David Edgerton, a retired architect, is concerned about the project’s layout, stating two pool tanks instead of one would better fit the community’s needs, as one could be used for the community and the other for sport clubs.

“With the two-tank facility, you can have a sport activity going on, a competition, and you still have the other tank for your community recreation which is necessary because you have to cater to the community needs as well,” he said.

“ … Similarly, if there’s not a competition going on, then you do have opportunities for open swimming at any time of the day. Previously with a single tank facility, there was a very limited amount of programming that you could have there. There was no way you could overlap any activities and so people would miss out.”

Edgerton, who has been volunteering in aquatics for 16 years, is also concerned about the location where the new spot will be built.

He is one of various residents who say the indoor pool is needed in the community with the hope of not replicating the city’s older model.

“I’m in favour of something like the [Credit Union] Spark Centre which the city has done so well, where we can have more than one activity happening at the same time,” said Leah Fornwald, who used the indoor pool for lane swimming.

Fornwald is also a retired teacher. She said providing youth with the opportunity to learn how to swim is essential for public safety. However, with the indoor pool being closed for the last two years, she said students have missed out.

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“How long is this going to take? Because every year that we don’t have an indoor pool, all the Grade 3s and 5s don’t get swimming lessons,” she said. “It’s going to end up unsafe because how many kids have backdoor pools now? We’ve got kids that haven’t learned to swim and they’re swimming at home.”

Another resident, who used to be a lifeguard when first moving to the city, said having an indoor pool is significant for Weyburn so people do not have to travel outside of the community to gain access.

“I get that a bigger pool is a want, but a pool in this size of a city is a need,” said Lisa Guest, whose two sons have used the facility for years.

“It’s something that’s required. Kids need to know how to swim. The schools provide swimming lessons as well so that’s an important thing.”

The City of Weyburn is expected to comment on the matter Tuesday afternoon.

More details to come…