Decades old reports show investigations and remediation failed to stop leakage from the Canberra Olympic Pool, casting new light on problems the ACT government said were first identified in 2012.
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A report prepared by the former Commonwealth Housing and Construction Department for officials at the Capital Territory Department shows technicians investigated serious leakages throughout 1981, finding water was entering a large trunk sewer under the Constitution Avenue site.
Held by the ACT government archives office, the records from before territory self-government offer a range of theories about the source of the leaks, including suspicions they were connected to damage to the outdoor diving pool, which was closed again in March this year after about 19 million litres of water was found to be leaking annually.
The amount is equivalent to the loss of the entire volume of an Olympic size pool every two weeks.
The December 1981 report, along with a series of other official documents which followed over the subsequent six years, said joints at the junction of the vertical wall and the sloping floor of the poor could be responsible for the ongoing leaks.
It called for a review of operational procedures, for static testing of all water, tracing of dye through possible leak areas, repairs to tiles and pipes and a month-long series of water measurements.
The huge cost of ongoing leaks from the pool are likely to never be known. In March, Sport and Recreation Minister Shane Rattenbury said leaks from the pool, first opened in 1955, cost taxpayers $100,000 each year.
An April 1987 memo received by the Territories Department said technicians had dug about 20 boreholes in the area around the pool and found a large "leakage dome" adjacent to the diving pool.
"A large volume of groundwater flows east of the diving pool and exits the site by way of existing sewerage and stormwater hydraulic services," it said. "There is reason to believe that the 600mm diameter sewer "tunnel" is connected to soil and rock aquifers that extent east from the diving pool structure."
Tracer dyes were used in some of borehole locations and experts warned the sewer may have to be dug up. A series of tests throughout March failed to identify the leak source with any certainty.
A press release from the National Capital Development Commission director of engineering and construction issued in October 1987 said the pool had "been leaking badly for some years and was in urgent need of repair".
Last month, Mr
Chief Minister Andrew Barr said a new aquatic centre next to Lake Burley Griffin was expected in the next term of the Assembly. He said continuity was needed, with the existing pool operating until a new centre is opened.
Mr Barr said the ongoing leaks were "manageable".
"At some point you need to renew your pool infrastructure. It is reasonable to expect that sort of infrastructure to have a life of 50 to 60 years.
"With appropriate remediation you can extend that life but there does come a point. As I identified a number of years ago, we are reaching that point where new investment is required."
