Pāhoa Community Aquatic Center Closed Due to Tephra from Recent Eruption

Pāhoa Community Aquatic Center Closed Due to Tephra from Recent Eruption

The Pāhoa Community Aquatic Center is closed until further notice due to tephra — principally ash and Pele’s hair — that has been accumulating in the pool, the County of Hawai‘i Department of Parks and Recreation has announced.

The pool has been closed since Saturday, Jan. 24 when episode 41 of the Kīlauea eruption began.

Despite concerted efforts by the County to rinse down the facility’s roofing, pressure wash the pool decks, and continuously vacuum the pool basin, ash and Pele’s hair continues to collect in the pool as it is blown from the roofs of nearby structures, from nearby trees, and across open areas of the park. The integrity of the pool’s filtration system is also in question given the amount of debris that has likely infiltrated the sand media in the filters.

As a result, Parks and Recreation is initiating the process, with the assistance of the Finance Department, of hiring a contractor to perform a comprehensive cleaning of the pool basin and filtration system.

“It’s important to the public’s health and safety to conduct a thorough cleaning of the entire pool to ensure safe operation and use of the facility going forward,” said Clayton Honma, Director of Parks and Recreation. “We appreciate the public’s patience during this closure and look forward to welcoming swimmers back to the pool when the project is complete.”

The County will provide more details about the timeline for the closure as the project progresses.

The Pāhoa Community Aquatic Center experienced a similar extended closure and clean-up process as a result of the 2018 eruption.

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