Eco-friendly Scarborough beachside pool a 'game-changer' for area
A $26-million geothermal pool has opened alongside the beach in the Perth suburb of Scarborough, the first in the state to be given a six-star green rating for the efficiency of its design.
The pool, which maintains a balmy 26-28 degrees Celsius, taps into the Yarragadee aquifer which is naturally heated, so it does not require conventional gas boilers.
The eco-friendly system offsets about 1,800 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.
There was a crowd of swimmers waiting outside the doors at 5:30am this morning, keen to be the first in the water at Scarborough's new pool.
The facility received a tick of approval from nine-year-old Jack Courtinho from Innaloo.
"It's really warm, which is good, you won't get frozen," he said.
Joy Johnson from Swanbourne is also a fan.
"We love the idea that it's so close to the beach, the beautiful view and it's got a cafe because that's very important, you have a coffee after your swim," she said.
Eleven-year-olds Neve Gaunt and Kerrie Tierney are Scarborough Surf Life Saving Club members and could not wait to check out the pool.
"We wanted it to be a memory, be one of the first people down at Scarborough pool," Neve said.
The pool is the first in the state to get a six-star green rating from the Green Building Council of Australia.
It was initially hoped it could be an ocean-fed pool, like Sydney's famous Bondi Icebergs.
But Mayor Mark Irwin said it was not geographically feasible.
"Early on we looked at all the different options of what could be achieved down here and it just wasn't feasible to get the ocean swim down here, especially with our coastline," he said.
"It was also about making sure we could activate as many people from the community and offer as much as we could and that needed to be a normal salt-water chlorinated pool."
The facility includes a 50-metre outdoor pool overlooking Scarborough beach, a children's splash pool and outdoor health and fitness programs.
Boost for businesses
Restaurant and cafe owners are optimistic that the opening of the Scarborough Beach foreshore swimming pool would mark a turning point for business after almost two years of development that has had a severe impact on them.
The pool — the first stage of a $57 million redevelopment of the foreshore — opened to a queue of people this morning.
Sandbar cafe and restaurant owner Ben Randall said the pool and the redevelopment of the foreshore will not only be a game-changer for Scarborough but also for the City of Perth and will be a draw card for international visitors.
He said his business struggled to survive in the past two years during the construction phase.
"We've barely hung on to be honest," he said.
"I know most of the other businesses are the same and we've seen some that have had to sell or get out, so it's been an incredibly tough period for everyone."
Mr Randell said the past 12 months had been particularly brutal on the business, but there was now some light at the end of the tunnel.
"I think it is going to be massive for Scarborough Beach and the entire area," he said.
"It's a world-class swimming pool and we are just so excited about what it is going to bring to the area.
"We've got a long, long way to go to recoup a lot of losses, but we've got to be positive now and optimistic that the future at Scarborough Beach is incredible and we're just so lucky [the development] is nearly finished and this pool is going to be one of the highlights of the beachfront."