A critical shortage of lifeguards in Central Otago could result in public swimming pools reducing their opening hours.

A recent recruitment drive by the Central Otago District Council (CODC) failed to attract any applicants, during a time of staffing shortages across a wide range of industries in the south.

CODC aquatics manager Carly Getson said Central was not alone in this issue. Many councils including Queenstown Lakes were struggling to find staff and have had to reduce operation at the Queenstown and Wānaka pools.

‘We have not received any applications in our recent recruitment process,” she said.

“Our lifeguards are central to the successful operation of our swimming pools. Unfortunately, there is a lack of available trained lifeguards in the region, which is also reflected in the wider aquatic and recreation industry at the moment.  

“We are facing a variety of workforce issues in our communities that are very much Covid related.”

Carly said water safety was always the highest priority but council understood the expectation from the public for pools to be open as normal.

The council operates pools year-round in Cromwell and Alexandra and a summer-only facility in Ranfurly. Pools in Millers Flat, Ophir and Roxburgh - where a new pool is currently being built - are run by the local communities.

While the Cromwell pool seems to be the least affected by staff shortages at present, others may soon have reduced hours, Carly said. “The reality is if we don’t hire staff soon there isn’t enough staff to operate seven days a week across our pools and to do so safely.”

The council is urging people who are out of work or looking for a change to consider diving into a new career.

They hope to find people with a passion for community health and wellbeing, who enjoy customer service and can swim 200m in under six minutes. Full training will be provided for applicants, Carly said.

New eco-friendly pump at Cromwell

Meanwhile the Cromwell Pool reopened last week with a newly-installed centralised water-sourced heating.

CODC parks and recreation manager Gordon Bailey and staff were pleased to see the heat pump doing its job and people back in the pool.  

 “The project, which involved converting from the LPG boiler to a system that transfers heat from the water mains to the pool, has not been without its challenges,” he said.

“We’ve had supply chain issues with getting the equipment into the country, and there’s been Covid on top of that, which have both impacted on the work programme. But we have got there in the end. Thanks to everyone for their patience over the past three months.”

The spa pool was still below its normal temperature but would increase to historic heat settings as ongoing “background work” on the new heat source was completed, Gordon said. 

Cromwell Pool crew member Eli Cantelmi with the new heat pump at Cromwell pool

CODC received a $100,000 grant from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) towards the cost of the heating replacement.

Cromwell Community Board chair Anna Harrison said the board had fully supported the initiative, which would result in a significant reduction in council’s carbon footprint in operating the Cromwell Pool.

“We’ve been looking forward to a cleaner, greener chapter for the pool with the upgrade of the heating system. Now we can have a more sustainable future, with fewer carbon emissions. This is quite an achievement and something we can be proud of as a community,” she said.

The new system will also mean lower operating costs and will shift the majority of energy usage to electricity.

Gordon said council had not as yet considered installing solar panels to offset the electricity costs and usage.

“At this stage a detailed look into the use of solar panels hasn’t been undertaken, this may be something to consider in future years as technology improves.”  

Swim School resumed on Monday (July 25) for the beginning of term three.