Question: I have been informed that the VMAC pool at Central Oahu Regional Park is being converted to a saltwater pool. Do you have information on this?
Answer: The chlorination system at the K. Mark Takai Veterans Memorial Aquatics Center will be converted to one that uses salt to create chlorine to clean the pool water, said Nathan Serota, spokesperson for Oahu’s Department of Parks and Recreation.
It won’t be a seawater pool. The pool will remain filled with fresh water, to which a limited amount of salt will be added; a salt chlorine generator will support a chemical reaction that converts salt to chlorine as a cleaning agent. The pool’s pump is being modified for the new system, he said.
The salt chlorine generator will be more environmentally sustainable and is part of a larger energy- savings performance contract about which the department will announce more details in the coming weeks, Serota said.
You are one of several readers concerned that a salt chlorine system will be harder to maintain than the current chlorination system in such a large, well-used pool, potentially disrupting usage. The city does not foresee maintenance problems due to this change.
The salt chlorine generator has yet to be installed, Serota said. The 50-meter VMAC pool was closed last week for maintenance and modifications to prepare for the upcoming conversion, as well as to fix an unrelated leak, he said. It reopened Saturday.
We’ve received a flurry of questions about public swimming pools on Oahu. Here are more answers.
Q: When will the Pearl City pool reopen? It’s been closed so long they could have dug a whole new pool.
A: When the swimming pool at Pearl City District Park closed Nov. 1, 2018, city officials said it would take nearly a year to complete extensive repairs and upgrades. Now, almost four years later, the city lists the pool as “closed until further notice,” providing status updates on six aspects of the work, but no estimated reopening date for the pool overall. Read the status updates at 808ne.ws/pool.
There are “too many moving parts” to specify a reopening date, but it won’t be this year, Serota said Friday. “It’s safe to say that the pool will be closed through 2022. We’re eager to get it reopened and will provide updates for the public as soon as we can,” he said.
Q: Auwe! We need a lifeguard hiring spree! Our pool could be open every day except for the staff shortage.
A: The city is recruiting part-time lifeguards for Oahu’s public swimming pools, jobs that are available to people 16 years and older and which pay $16.25 an hour to start. Applicants must be certified in CPR/first aid. People interested in these jobs can go to 808ne.ws/lifeguard for more information and a link to the application.
Two upcoming lifeguard training courses that are open to people age 15 and older help applicants become certified so that they are eligible to apply. An all-day course is scheduled for the first two weekends in October in Kaneohe and an evening course is scheduled for Oct. 3-7 in Waikele. Both include lifeguard and CPR/first aid training. See the previously mentioned website for more information. The Waikele course is offered by the Department of Parks and Recreation at a discounted price of $41.
The same website lists public pool locations on Oahu, as well as each facility’s phone number. Swimmers are encouraged to call ahead for up-to-date information on open hours for free swim, lap swim and classes, as well as for information about closures.
