Engineering reports on Wanaka Community Pool released

Queenstown Lakes District Council has released two independent engineering reports into the seismic capacity of the Wanaka Community Pool building.

Both reports were prepared by independent consulting engineers Holmes Consulting Group and are yet to be peer reviewed. They are online here: http://www.qldc.govt.nz/wanaka_sports_facility

The first report is based on a review of the 1991-92 structural drawings of the pool building and assesses its seismic capacity as 23% of the New Building Standard, which means it is classified as earthquake prone under the Building Act 2004. The report concludes that: “the building only has a capacity to resist a 1 in 25 year … earthquake” as opposed to a 1 in 500 year event.

The second report is based on a detailed, physical “invasive” assessment of the pool building.

Holmes engineers inspected the physical state of the building against the plans and found that a timber purlin specified in the structural drawings was absent, and also identified six other issues that reduced the building’s structural strength. The report concludes that the building meets only 20% of the New Building Standard.

QLDC received the second report last week and sought independent legal advice before deciding to close the pool last Friday, until further notice.

The Holmes report is now being peer reviewed.

QLDC General Manager Ruth Stokes said the pool was built for Mt Aspiring College in the early 1990s and was later run by a community trust. The Council took over the management of the pool in 2010 and legally became its owner last year.

In light of the structural assessment, Council staff were investigating options and costs to strengthen the building. These would then be weighed against the costs and benefits of adding a learners’ pool on the existing site, or building a completely new pool as part of the Wanaka Sports Facility at Three Parks.

ENDS

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