LAC LA BICHE - With the new $46 million aquatic centre anticipated to open in Lac La Biche in late 2026, what will be the future of the community’s existing Portage Pool?
Opened more than 30 years ago, Portage Pool is a 10,000 square foot facility owned by Portage College but operated through a lease agreement by Lac La Biche County.
Municipal spokesperson Jihad Moghrabi, says that with the opening of the new, 35,000 square foot aquatic facility, Lac La Biche County would no longer operate Portage Pool and transfer all operations back to the college. What happens from there, he said, will be up to Portage College officials.
“Future usage of the Portage Pool area will be Portage College’s decision,” he tells Lakeland This Week.
New pool, new features
The new aquatic centre will include a six-lane, 25-metre swimming pool, a lazy river feature, a water slide, saunas, hot tubs and even an outdoor patio area.
The new aquatic centre will be good news for the local swimming club. Jen Okrainec a coach with the Lac La Biche Whitecaps, says the new facility will allow for competition-level events in the community.
Currently, she explained, the main swimming lanes at Portage Pool are just shy of the 25-metre length required for holding sanctioned events. Over the years, the club has hosted non-competitive swim meets, with local swimmers travelling to other communities for sanctioned competitions.
“We’re very excited about having a new pool…because it means that we can potentially hold those sanctioned competitions,” Okrainec told Lakeland This Week.
Construction on the new aquatic centre began in late February. The opening date is slated for the summer of 2026. The $46 million project has been in the planning and design stages since 2018. At that time, the budget was $27 million with $15 million in provincial and federal funding helping to reduce the local taxpayer costs to $12 million.
Increased budget costs have been attributed to some design changes from the original plans and global markets following the COVID-19 pandemic. The last budget increase approved by Lac La Biche County Council came at a meeting with designers in early 2023, bumping a $34 million budget by $12 million to the current price tag.
