If you’ve ever wondered, it takes 100 litres of Olympic Blue paint to coat the surface of Gloucester’s outdoor public swimming pool. It’s a job that’s done every year, due to the amount of fading that occurs over the 12 months.
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“Emptying the pool is also an opportunity to fix things like broken tiles and cracks,” Gloucester Shire Council’s Recreation manager Tad Parish said.
With the water pumped out just before the start of the swimming season every year, Tad is part of a small team of dedicated workers who prepare the pool for the seasonal hordes of swimmers flocking to its cool waters and shady trees. Oops – did I say trees? It’s probably best not to mention them – they take up around 10 to 15 hours of labour each week due to the leaves and debris they drop.
“But if we didn’t have them, we’d have to look at costly shade cloths around the place,” Tad said.
So the trees fortunately get to stay.
Open from this Saturday (October 3), the Gloucester Olympic and Hydrotherapy Complex will offer early morning lap swimming, a social exercise group, swimming lessons, and the Gloucester Thunderbolts Swimming Club.
Stroud’s pool is already open for action, having recently marked five months since April’s flood swept through the town. Work to restore the pool’s equipment, including pump, seals, and fencing, was completed on time thanks to the efforts of operational staff from Great Lakes Council.
