Businesses suffering due to Radium Hot Springs pool closure

The pools at Radium Hot Springs have been closed twice since October, and it's taking a toll on local businesses, even though the town itself is still open. 

A closure was originally announced in October for crews to do some relatively minor renovations, with plans to reopen at the end of December.

An inspection shortly after the reopening found structural issues that required the facilities to close for a second time mid-January. Now, it's uncertain when the pools will reopen. 

"[The] hot springs is a significant part of the whole experience in Radium," Kristin McCauley, a local inn owner, told Daybreak South host Chris Walker.

"In Radium, we have tourism and we have forestry. There's not a lot else for our town. So it's been greatly impacted having one of the major contributors to the economy severely impacted by the pool."

McCauley owns Inn on Canyon, a family-run business that relies on tourists visiting the town to enjoy the pools. She said business is down significantly compared to last year. 

"I've had to scale a lot of our projects back and I probably won't be as ready for the summer season as I would like to be at this point," she said. 

She said she's been having a hard time finding work for her staff to do, which means they don't get enough hours to pay their bills. 

McCauley is also a member of the local chamber of commerce and the tourism board, and said her experience is echoed by other businesses in the community. 

"Everyone's reducing hours ... everyone's very quiet," she said. "We are not sure at this point when they're going to open and so we're just trying to get by.

"It would be nice to have an opening date so we know what we know what to tell potential guests when they call," she said. 

McCauley would also like to be reassured by Parks Canada that the necessary funding and labour are in place to ensure the job can be completed in a timely manner, and also that there's funding in place to maintain and repair the pools on an ongoing basis. 

"They're such an important part of our business community, and we value them so much," she said. 

In addition, she wants to see a marketing campaign to let visitors know the pools are open again. 

In an email to CBC, Parks Canada said the Radium Hot Springs pools will remain closed to the public until they can ensure the safety of staff and the public.

"Once an estimated date of reopening is confirmed, it will be provided to the community of Radium Hot Springs," the email said.