City council has unanimously approved an expensive water line upgrade project for the Canada Games Centre aquatic centre.

“This is a required upgrade to one of the jewels of the community, not just Whitehorse but the entire Yukon,” said Coun. Ted Laking said during Monday’s meeting.

The project is planned to start in August and wrap up in October.

Most of the $1.625-million cost is expected to be covered by the Canada Community Building Fund.

The CGC aquatic centre is more than 20 years old.

The water distribution system has experienced several failures already, which required the family changing facilities and staff areas to be closed until temporary solutions were installed.

The system’s problems may also be causing erosion underneath the facility. If the water supply to the change rooms failed, there would be “severe disruption” for users.

Given the public reaction to the extra-long closure of the aquatic centre in 2023 for repairs, Laking urged city staff to make extra efforts to make the public aware of why the upgrades are happening and how they will be affected.

The aquatic centre’s water distribution system is made of a composite aluminum and cross-linked polyethylene (Pex) product named Kitec, according to a report by city staff.

Due to its age and the consistent demands for domestic water in the aquatic centre, the current piping will only deteriorate further with time.

The project will see all Kitec piping replaced with Pro-Press stainless steel piping.

The new water lines will be installed on wall exteriors so they can be serviced easily in the future. The Kitec pipes will not be dug out of the concrete floors and walls.