Splash Palace Closed Pools 47 Times in a Year

Splash Palace closed a pool nearly once a week over the past year — three times more often than the council's own target allows.

A report to the finance and policy committee revealed 47 unplanned closures at the Invercargill facility in the year to June 2026, well above the target of fewer than 15. That translated to roughly 230 hours of lost pool time.

Council group manager Rex Capil said the figures typically referred to individual pool closures rather than a full shutdown of the complex, with two exceptions: a plant failure and a severe weather event.

The dominant culprit is no mystery to anyone who has managed a public pool. "Code browns" — faecal and vomiting incidents — have been a recurring problem, though Capil said the numbers were moving in the right direction.

"Faecal or vomiting incidents are a common challenge at all aquatic facilities, particularly in pools used by babies and young children," Capil said.

Each incident typically forces a closure of one to three hours. The council is now reviewing its swim nappy policy, and new signage explaining that policy may follow.

Unplanned closures was one of four KPIs the aquatic facility missed this year, alongside resident satisfaction and two measures of annual user numbers. Satisfaction came in at 73% — 2% short of the 75% target, even after an 8% jump from the previous year.

Not everything fell short. Water quality standards, learn-to-swim participation and public lane availability all hit their targets.

Councillors voted in May against a proposed 10% fee increase at the facility.