The South African National Aquatic Championships at the Newton Park Swimming Pool, owned by the Nelson Mandela Bay, have been postponed for the second today 17 April 2013, due to the high chlorine levels that were found in the water this morning.
As promised yesterday, the Municipality worked overnight on the swimming pool to get it ready for the event for today. By this morning, the pool was ready for use until another unfortunate incident of a second water pipe burst occurred, cutting the water supply to the swimming pool and the whole area. This pipe burst led to a malfunction of the swimming pool filter, which subsequently increased the chlorine levels in the water. A joint meeting between the organisers and the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality agreed to call off the programme of the day to allow the pool staff to work on balancing the chlorine levels. The burst pipe has since been repaired and water tankers have been called in as a standby to supply water.
This follows the first incident on Sunday, when a pipe burst caused pollution in the pool, which resulted in the cancellation of the programme.
Swimming South Africa Chief Executive Officer Shaun Adriaanse said they would be meeting later today to assess the work done so that they can be able to indicate at what time the programme will start tomorrow. He said that the challenges faced were disappointing to everyone. “We are all disappointed, including the Municipality, that owns the facility, we are pleased with the commitment they have shown in making sure that the problem is solved. Today, will be jointly testing the water on a regular basis so that we can communicate immediately on when the programme can resume tomorrow,” said Adriaanse.
Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Sport and Recreation Portfolio Chairperson Cllr Nomamerika Magopheni said that the Municipality regrets what has happened. She said working together with the organisers they will be able to prevent the total cancellation of the programme. “We want to thank Swimming South Africa for their cooperation in this regard. We again regret this unforeseen incident and the impact it has had on the event,” said Councillor Magopheni.
Editor’s Notes: If you have just come into this back and forth of ‘he says’ and ‘she says’ then these articles may help: Newton Park Pool – Green with Envy? | Cleaning work at Newton Park Swimming Pools underway | Urgent report requested for Newton Park Swimming Pool
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