Project to restore, reopen Pāhoa Community Aquatic Center starts next week

Hawai‘i County Parks and Recreation reports via social media that work to restore and reopen Pāhoa Community Aquatic Center begins early next week.

The project starts Feb. 16, with a contractor hired by Parks and Recreation beginning a comprehensive cleaning of the facility.

Pāhoa Community Aquatic Center was closed Jan. 24 during Episode 41 of lava fountaining from the ongoing episodic summit eruption of Kīlauea volcano.

Tephra — particularly volcanic ash and volcanic strands of glass called Pele’s hair — were carried by winds during the eruptive episode and fell on several communities in Puna and even Hilo, with it also getting into the Pāhoa swimming pool and surrounding facility.

The county hired a licensed pool contractor to conduct a thorough cleaning of the entire facility to ensure public safety and protect the integrity of the aquatic center’s circulation and filtration systems.

Work will include:

• Removing and replacing the media in the pool’s filters.
• Pressure washing the facility — roofs to pool basin — to remove all volcanic material, including ash and Pele’s hair.
• Flushing all pool gutters, drains and piping.
• Draining and cleaning the pool basin and bulkhead.
• Refilling the pool and re-establishing safe water chemistry.

“It’s important to the public’s health and safety to conduct a thorough cleaning of the entire pool to ensure safe operation and use of the facility going forward,” said Parks and Recreation Director Clayton Honma upon announcing the facility’s closure. “We appreciate the public’s patience during this closure and look forward to welcoming swimmers back to the pool when the project is complete.”

The cleaning project is expected to last about 2 weeks, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

“Mahalo for your patience,” said Hawai‘i County Parks and Recreation in its Facebook post announcing the cleanup project. “We look forward to reopening [Pāhoa Community Aquatic Center] soon!”