Structural damage forces East Maitland Aquatic Centre closure for remainder of 2022

Maitland City Council can confirm that East Maitland Aquatic Centre will not reopen in 2022 due to significant structural damage to the main pool at the facility.

Major issues began to present themselves at the start of the year, with tile bed lifting in January prompting engineering investigations throughout the first half of the year.

Engineering reports found structural failures were causing substantial water loss into the ground, with the tile bed ‘tenting’ throughout the pool and various compliance defects.

Several repair options are being considered, with a report to Council on Tuesday 27 September set to provide details regarding the scope of repair works, associated costs, and timelines.

General Manager, David Evans said that this repair work aims to reopen the pool in early 2023 to cater for the back end of the summer season and school swimming carnivals.

‘The facility was opened way back in 1977 and is approaching the end of its expected service life of around 40 to 50 years,’ Mr Evans said.

‘It’s been something of a perfect storm this year, with two major flooding events making conditions much worse than we’d expected.

‘We know how important this is to so many in the community, and we’d like to especially thank the East Maitland Swim Club for their cooperation and understanding as we’ve worked through these issues.’

Council officers are currently developing an updated Aquatics Strategy, which will guide the future of Aquatic Centres across Maitland and promote improved availability of these facilities to the entire community.