Municipal swimming pool has had more than 70 deficiencies to be resolved, claims mayor

The opening of the municipal swimming pool is still uncertain, despite an inspection visit to the facility organised by the local government team this week in which mayor Rosa Cardona and the councillor responsible for Sports, Toni Molina (PP), accompanied by Department of Sports technician Paco Castaño, explained the current situation to members of the press.

Construction of the long-awaited infrastructure, which has cost almost six million euros, half of which was provided by the Generalitat Valenciana, was finished in April 2023 and handed over to the local council. However, its doors have remain firmly closed to the public due to more than 70 deficiencies being identified since, including water leaks, failure in both the disinfection system and the water reheating system, and flooding in the changing rooms caused by lack of proper drainage in the shower areas, amongst other issues.

The mayor explained that many of the most important deficiencies have been corrected, the cost of which was assumed by the contract company under warranty conditions. She added that the continued delay is due to a more serious problem of the potential for cross-contamination of overflowing water from the two basins due to the lack of adequate drainage channels around the edges of the pools. Resolving the issue cannot be achieved because it would affect the structure of the building and, since it is something that would affect public health, the appropriate licencing from the Department of Health cannot be issued. However, she assured the public that once the problem is corrected, “we will open the facility and it will be free of charge”.

The overall management of the swimming pool is another issue that remains pending and the mayor explained that it is intended that the facility will be managed by the municipal water company AMJASA and, whilst the process may take a little while, it would not prevent the swimming pool from being opened to the public once the go-ahead from the Department of Health had been received.

She finished the visit by saying that “my wish is to open the pool as soon as possible and see it full of people, enjoying it, but I think that it cannot open in the conditions it is in and without providing the good service it should.”

“What we are asking for is the truth, not a guided tour”

Predictably, the socialist opposition refused to accept some of the excuses given for the continued closure of the infrastructure, releasing a statement after the inspection visit to claim that the government team were “hiding behind technical deficiencies that change over time” and asked “when they gave the order to fill [the basins], didn’t they think about checking anything? Was there no political responsibility? What did the Councillor for Sports do in all that time?”

The statement also accused the government team of scaremongering over the cross-contamination issue, claiming that the risk was no valid “because it is just as easy for the water to become contaminated in other facilities and that does not mean they are closed to the public”, adding that “a sports centre is not closed due to the risk of fungi or salmonellosis. Periodic analyses are simply carried out and when the indicators advise it, the facility is closed for the time required to solve the problem.“

The socialists accused the mayor of failing to take responsibility, claiming that “she has pointed the finger at municipal technicians, journalists, the Spanish Government, previous governments of Xàbia – at anyone but herself”, adding that the government team had not done its job over the past 20 months that they had been in power: “there are no lifeguards, no monitors, no janitors, no approved regulations, no fees; there is nothing. Thus, anyone who passes by the municipal pool will be able to see that it is full, with the air conditioning systems running (and consuming energy) but inexplicably closed”.

The statement concluded with the claim that “the pool has no structural or serious defects. Its only ‘fault’ is that it has been one of the most requested projects in recent years and it was made a reality by the PSOE government. That is why they prefer to keep it closed and spread lies that discredit it. The strategy is to delay the opening as much as possible to ‘erase’ who made it possible and, in the process, cover up their own inability. As a political group, we have asked for an extraordinary plenary session to explain to the residents of Xàbia what is happening. What we are asking for is the truth, not a guided tour to take photos”.

The council representative for Compromís, Carm Caturlà, who attended the inspection tour, also posted a short statement on her social media. “When they invite you to the municipal pool a few hours before the press, to say that everything is a disaster (or so they tell us), what a relief to know that many of the problems were detected in April and now, in February, everything is ready… well, almost everything! We still have no idea how this aquatic paradise will be managed, but hey! The facade looks great!”