Peterborough Regional Pool reopens after Legionella bacteria tests carried out

Peterborough's Regional Pool has reopened today, after potentially dangerous bacteria was found in its water supply.

Peterborough Ltd, the council-owned company which runs the pool, confirmed that a strain of Legionella was identified in the water system connected to some of its sinks and changing rooms last week.

In an update, a spokesperson for the company confirmed that the strain of the bacteria identified is not Legionella pneumophila, which causes most cases of Legionnaires' disease - a serious lung infection.

On March 22, they said: "We are delighted that the Regional Pool will be reopening on Friday.

“We have been working extensively with Environmental Health and we are delighted that our testing has come back completely satisfactory and indicates no risk to the public.

“We are looking forward to welcoming customers back to enjoy their usual swimming, gym and fitness classes.”

Earlier this week, the site confirmed its tests have consistently come back as non-infectious.

The Regional Pool has so far remained shut for almost three weeks, having initially closed on 2 March.

On 17 March, Peterborough Ltd managing director Kitran Eastman confirmed that Legionella had been identified in the water supply connected to some of the pool's facilities, although not the pool itself.

Before that, the pool's closure was put down to a lack of hot water in the building.

This, in tandem with the presence of Legionella, has kept the pool closed, Peterborough Ltd has confirmed, because hot water for hand washing is a legal requirement.

The Legionella identified "does not cause illness in humans", Ms Eastman said, and Peterborough Ltd and Peterborough City Council’s (PCC) environmental health team are “satisfied that there was no risk to those who had used the pool and its facilities as a result of these test results.”

The bacteria was picked up during routine testing for water-borne bacteria including Legionella and E.Coli.

Samples must be given at least 10 days to grow in the laboratory, which has also contributed to the delays in reopening the pool.

Ms Eastman said that staff and contractors have been “working around the clock” to identify issues with the hot water in the meantime.