Goondiwindi Pool to close on Sunday as $3.2 million upgrades get under way

The Goondiwindi Memorial Swimming Pool will close from Sunday [28 February] as $3.2 million worth of upgrades get under way.

Work will begin next week and continue during the off-season. Weather permitting, the upgrades are expected to be completed in time for the start of the summer swim season in September.

Goondiwindi Regional Council has allocated $1,350,000 from the State Government’s 2019-20 COVID Works for Queensland (W4Q) program towards the project and $1,043,240 from the Australian Government’s Local Roads and Community Infrastructure (LRCI) Program Grant. Council is contributing an additional $768,547 towards the upgrades.

Mayor of the Goondiwindi region the Honourable Cr Lawrence Springborg AM said the scheduled upgrades are essential to the longevity of the pool.

“While the Goondiwindi pool has faithfully served our community for about 60 years, it’s now at the stage where it requires some major work so that it can continue to be a great viable asset for our region,” the Mayor said. “For example, the current filtration system will be replaced to ensure that water quality continues to exceed the required health guidelines.”

The upgrades will include refurbishing the aged shell and re-lining the pool in stainless steel and vinyl polymer. A wet deck area and access ramp will also be installed to ensure that all members of our community can enjoy the pool.

Further upgrades include the construction of a new larger filtration room and the installation of a new state-of-the-art filtration system with more efficient pumps. The existing inlet and outlet pipes will also be replaced.

The length and number of the pool's lanes will not be affected by the works.

Cr Springborg said the work would complement Council’s various upgrades to the Inglewood and Texas pools over the past few years.

“Over the last decade, Council has prioritised the new pool and amenities at Inglewood and significant refurbishment of the Texas pool, and Council certainly recognises the importance of our local pools to our communities,” he said. "The Goondiwindi pool supports 13 schools from across the region with their swimming programs and is a hugely valuable asset not only to Goondiwindi, but to many communities from outside the town as well.

"Council's success in securing external funding for this project means we were able to vastly increase the scope of upgrades for the Goondiwindi pool while keeping ratepayer costs minimal,” he said.

Discounted season ticket holders were made aware at the start of the season that the pool would close to the public from 28 February. Scheduled lessons will continue at the heated 'Learn to Swim' pool until 28 March 2021.