Wagga Wagga City Council has welcomed an announcement from the Federal Government that it will allocate $2.5 million in funding for a project to improve energy efficiency at the Oasis Aquatic Centre.
The funding is part of Round 1 of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water's $100 million Community Energy Upgrades Fund.
The Community Energy Upgrades program aims to help local governments make their facilities more energy efficient, cut their emissions and reduce their energy bills.
Manager City Growth & Regional Assets Ben Creighton is pleased Council has been successful in receiving the full amount of funding that it sought in its application to the program.
"This is great news for City of Wagga Wagga and residents right across the local government area, as it will allow us to continue to provide a great facility for the community," Mr Creighton said.
"The funding will allow Council to modernise the Oasis Aquatic Centre's heating and plant network and essentially transfer the Oasis off a gas network onto an electrical network.
"There'll be upgrades to the heating system, which is now around 23 years old.
"It also allows us to do some upgrades to the air handling at the Oasis. At times it can be quite warm and quite humid within the actual pool hall itself, so it will enable us to address that."
It's envisaged the upgrade will give the Oasis more flexibility in controlling the temperature around the outdoor 50-metre pool.
While most pool users will only see small changes in day-to-day operations of the Oasis once the upgrade is completed, Mr Creighton said it will deliver important broader benefits for the facility, Council and the community.
The project aligns with Council's Corporate Net Zero 2040 Strategy, which outlines a series of actions and pathways Council may implement to reduce its carbon footprint to meet the 2040 net zero target.
"It was identified that the Oasis plant room currently operates on a gas heating system which heats the air and the water, creating a large amount of carbon emission," Mr Creighton said.
"The projects will allow us to convert to electricity. At the moment, Council purchases green electricity, so essentially, that will mean that we'll be able to reduce the carbon emissions down at the Oasis to virtually zero."
Once the Federal Government provides formal notification of the grant, a report will be presented to Council to accept the funding.
The planning and design phases will commence once the funds have been received.
