POOL BOILER FAILURE - City of Merritt

The boiler for the main pool at the Nicola Valley Aquatic Centre failed on Tuesday morning. At 5:00 a.m. on March 25, 2025, Community Services maintenance worker Graham Hartman arrived to check the boilers at the start of his shift and witnessed substantial fire damage and missing firebricks in the boiler. The boiler could no longer operate safely. He immediately shut it off to prevent further damage.

The high-temperature refractory bricks failed, cracking and ultimately disintegrating, falling onto the heating elements. The extreme heat caused damage to sensitive parts of the boiler system, including electrical wiring. These bricks were replaced last year because they were showing signs of deterioration and cracking.

This boiler is relatively new, having been installed in 2019.

The City has ordered a supply of replacement bricks. The bricks have now arrived in Brampton Ontario, and are enroute via ground transportation. Due to the fragility of the brick, it cannot be flown by air. The arrival date is to be announced.

Currently, the large boiler that heats the main pool is non-operational. The boilers for the leisure pool and hot tubs remain functional, maintaining operational pool temperatures. To partially compensate for this main boiler failure, Community Services maintenance staff are interchanging Leisure pool water with Main pool water to maintain a relatively comfortable temperature. While the operating temperature for the main pool is typically 82°F, the current holding temperature is 78°F at this time.

Updates will be provided as more information becomes available.

The City thanks pool patrons for their patience as staff work to resolve this issue.

Director of Community Services Dave Zakall says, “I want to give a big shout-out to our City of Merritt maintenance staff, who work hard day in and day out to provide a safe and clean facility for the citizens of Merritt.”

City staff are expecting to look at alternative, more energy-efficient measures of heating our pools in the future.