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Frank J. Dunn pool re-opens

Sep 17, 2013 | 1:20 PM

The Frank J. Dunn swimming pool in Prince Albert officially re-opened to the public on Tuesday.

The pool’s re-opening, originally scheduled for the end of August, was postponed indefinitely after it was linked to an outbreak of gastrointestinal illnesses caused by the Cryptosporidium parasite. Four cases were lab confirmed by the Prince Albert Parkland Health Region.

The Kinsmen Water Park was also shuttered early after it was connected to the possible parasite exposure.

Public health officials ordered the super-chlorination of the pool, which saw the amount of chlorine in the pool increased to very high levels to kill any traces of the parasite that could be present in the pool.

The pool is owned by the City of Prince Albert and the Saskatchewan Rivers School Division, operated by the school division and inspected by public health officials.

On Friday, the city announced that the pool would remain closed until further notice, due to the high levels of chlorine still present. But on Tuesday morning, public health tested the chlorine levels again.

“As of this morning, we’ve met the levels that the public health [department] wanted to see, and so they’ve given us permission to re-open the pool,” said Mike Hurd, the superintendent of facilities for the Sask. Rivers School Division.

The pool is tested five times a day, he said. Public health told Sask. Rivers to “shock” the pool with chlorine, which it did for two weeks. The chlorine levels were too high to re-open the pool prior to Tuesday. He reiterated that the school division was only following orders given by public health.

All of the regularly scheduled programs at the pool will start to resume Tuesday evening.

tjames@panow.com

On Twitter: @thiajames