Queenstown Lakes District Council today announced that, following a detailed structural assessment, it was closing the Wanaka Community Pool until further notice.

The engineering assessment has put the Design Based Earthquake (DBE) rating at 20% which classifies it as an earthquake-prone building under the Building Act 2004.

QLDC Chief Executive Adam Feeley said that while it appeared that the Wanaka Pool met the relevant statutory requirements at the time it was built, it now fell significantly short of current standards.

“Our advice is that it could be at risk in the event of an unusually heavy snowfall, earthquake, or similar event.”

“While there is a relatively low probability of such occurrences happening, we are not prepared to risk public safety until we have made a decision about the options to strengthen the building.”

Mr Feeley said that the pool was in any event scheduled for temporary closure next week to carry out annual maintenance.

The Council will have a better idea on the likely period of closure once further work has been completed on the options for upgrading the building.

The structure of the Wanaka Community Poole was engineered by Mr Anthony Major, who was this week expelled from the Institute of Professional Engineers of NZ (IPENZ) arising from his engineering of Stadium Southland. However, the Council had already begun a structural assessment before his involvement was noted.

By: QLDC