Esplanade Lagoon closed for maintenance

Cairns Regional Council will undertake maintenance on The Esplanade Lagoon from Wednesday, June 6.

This scheduled maintenance is expected to take up to four weeks and the lagoon will be closed to the public at this time.
General Manager of Community, Sport and Cultural Services Ian Lowth said crews would work around the clock to ensure the popular facility was reopened as soon as possible.

“There is no good time to close The Esplanade Lagoon, however these works cannot be carried out during the wet season and June is historically one of the drier months of the year,” Mr Lowth said.

“We review our usage data before we undertake this type of closure and our visitor numbers using the lagoon are at their lowest in the months of June and July as we experience milder temperatures.

“Our popular beaches are open at this time of year and there is still a wide range of activities for Esplanade visitors to enjoy including Muddy’s playground.

“The lagoon will remain open for the Cairns Airport Adventure Festival and crews will work toward completing maintenance before the July school holidays.”

This will be the sixth closure of the lagoon for maintenance in nearly 10 years. The last three closures have been spaced biannually to minimise impact on the community and in 2010 the lagoon was resurfaced.

Works to be undertaken during this upcoming maintenance program include:

• replacing rusting shade structure posts with a more sustainable stainless option
• renewal of all expansion joints
• renewal of beach sand
• unblock pool pipelines
• refurbishment of circulation pumps, plant pipework and filters
• empty and clean balance and backwash tanks
• refurbish shower areas in male and female amenities
• refurbish underwater lights
• repaint pool gutters
• replace timbers on Lagoon decks
• clean and polish fish.

“These tasks cannot be carried out while the lagoon pool is in operation; this closure is an essential part of regular maintenance that ensures The Esplanade Lagoon is open and functional for the next two years until our next programmed closure,” Mr Lowth said