Moncton swimming pool controversy reaches new depths

Pool controversy deepening in Moncton Critics say the new pool in Moncton's east end isn’t deep enough. Kate Walker reports.

Construction crews may soon have to dig a little deeper at the site of the new pool in Moncton’s east end.

The work is far from complete at the Moncton East Youth Centre, but the $2.3-million dollar pool is causing a lot of controversy.

“I thought it was going to be a wonderful addition, however it turned into a fiasco,” said Pikey French, the Moncton East Youth Centre director.

According to French, people didn’t realize the pool would only be about a metre deep.

The original plan was for the structure to be 1.15 meters deep.

“We had heard some of the comments from councillors, comments from the public, and we wanted to have the opportunity to explain where things were at and to possibly look at some compromise or some solution,” said city of Moncton spokeswoman Isabelle Leblanc.

Their solution? To extend the pool's depth to 1.5 meters.

Some argue that would still be far too shallow and a safety risk for children diving and jumping in the pool.

“As one of our Moncton lawyers said to me ‘I'm going to rent a billboard and put it on your fence, because I'm sure I'm going to get some cases.’” French said.

But the city says the pool is only meant for leisurely swimming.

"This is not a competitive pool,” Leblanc said. “It's a recreational pool. The objective was really to build an infrastructure that could accommodate the largest amount of people possible and we've targeted that at 200-plus people.”

City council says they would need to re-visit their budget before any changes are approved.  No word on how much extra it would cost to make it deeper.

The pool was scheduled to be open by next summer, but with an increase in depth, that opening date could be pushed back.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kate Walker.