Kawakawa pool back up to temperature

Cold no longer: Members of Bay of Islands Swimming Club's gold squad braving the chill last month when one of two water heaters at Kawakawa's public pool broke down. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Kawakawa's indoor pool has re-opened with water back up to a relatively balmy 28C after a broken heat pump was replaced.

One of two heat pumps at Te Papawai Bay of Islands Community Pool, the only public heated pool in the Far North, broke down earlier this year, causing water temperature to drop below 20C and sparking an exodus of swimmers.

Elderly users and children in particular stayed away, with users dropping by 40 per cent.

The pool is officially owned by Bay of Islands College, which can't afford to maintain it, but run by Kaitaia-based CBEC and subsidised by a targeted rate collected by the Far North District Council.

Last month the council stumped up most of the $60,000 cost of a new pump with the Kawakawa Business and Community Association and the Mayoral Fund each chipping in $5000.

Operations manager Trevor Lochore said the pool re-opened on July 16 with a free open day last Sunday once the water had warmed up properly.

About 80 people, mostly family groups, turned out.

"We had a lot of kiddies, who we hadn't seen here for a while because of the cold water," he said.

Business association member Richard Duley said the new pump was more efficient than the old one and didn't have to work as hard to heat the water.

That the council had agreed to invest in a new heat pump showed it was committed to keeping the pool open.

"It's been an inconvenience for a few months but for the long term this is a great result," he said.

In 2013 a report commissioned by the council recommended closing Kawakawa's pool and building a new one in Kerikeri instead.

The council soon distanced itself from the report but it prodded the Kawakawa community into action.

After a huge community effort to repair and revamp the pool it re-opened in June 2015 with a new name and a new lease of life.