Saanich’s Commonwealth Pool is getting an upgrade; here’s what to expect

Commonwealth Place is getting an upgrade that will impact services to accommodate construction.

The District of Saanich is installing fresh boilers in Commonwealth Place and are giving the heads up to pool and rec centre patrons that some services may be impacted from time to time through this spring and summer. 

The new boilers being installed is a part of the district’s efforts to switch Commonwealth Place to a biomass mechanical system, in order to reduce the building’s environmental footprint.

Given that the boiler is crucial in heating the water used in pool areas such as the hot tub and tots pool, Saanich is giving a heads up to pool users that certain amenities will have no hot water from April 3rd to April 21st.

Commonwealth Place will remain open during this time, but with adjustments to their services and amenities. 

Here’s what to expect:

• The pools will be open with a modified schedule
• The pool temperatures will be colder than normal
• The hot tub will not be hot. It will however be available as a cold plunge option
• The sauna and steam room will remain open as usual
• The tots pool will be closed
• Cleansing showers before entering the pools are still required, but the water will be cold
• Daily pool water and air temperatures will be posted in the facility and on the website 
• Supplemental fans and heaters will be available in some spaces
• Weight Room temperatures will not be impacted by this outage
• Saanich Access Pass holders who do not wish to use the facility during this time frame can speak to a reception team member to pause their pass
• Kattia’s Kitchen Café will be open with modified operations

The district wants to remind Saanich Access Pass holders that their access pass will still work for Cedar Hill Recreation Centre, Gordon Head Recreation Centre and G.R. Pearkes Recreation Centre.

Once the biomass boilers are installed in Commonwealth Place’s mechanical room, the next phase of the upgrade will be excavating to install biomass fuel tanks and hooking up the boilers to the existing heating system.

Construction on this lofty project began in September, 2022 and is expected to be completed sometime in fall, 2023.