ALEXANDRINA/VICTOR HARBOR - Hopes for a pool of some sort along the south coast seem to have been reignited with the formation of the Joint Regional Aquatic Centre Working Party.

It has been formed between the Alexandrina Council and City of Victor Harbor.

In a joint statement between the councils, Victor council city manager Graeme Maxwell said the party is an investigative group that will discuss and review options for an aquatic facility, "having regard for past research undertaken and narrowing the options for further consideration and recommendation to the councils".

"Alexandrina Council and the City of Victor Harbor are committed to continuing to work together to deliver a Fleurieu Regional Aquatic Centre for our communities."

"All options for the location, financing, building, ownership and operation of a centre are being considered.

"Ultimately we hope to achieve a proposal for a publicly funded Aquatic Centre with potential government financial support, which we can place before the community for consultation purposes."

Mr Maxwell said there had been several false starts on the project, but the work undertaken is of considerable value to the ultimate goal.

"We needed to explore site availability, accessibility and practicality; we needed to understand the design and content issues; we needed to know the viability and sustainability benchmarks of a facility; and most importantly, we needed to know and understand in broad terms the capital and operating cost commitments of a facility," he said.

"Developing and marketing of a formal proposal will also be challenging as we move forward."

In a report to Victor Council last month, it said that the party will investigate the potential for a swimming pool to be constructed at the foreshore filled with sea water by a mechanism similar to that used in Encounter Lakes.

The elected members on the party are councillors Margaret Gardner and Grant Gartrell from Alexandrina Council and crs David Hall and Chris Sedunary from Victor Harbor council.

The party will meet initially on February 16 for an informal meeting to discuss the way forward to deliver such a community council-subsidised public sector project.

The party is not a formal section 41 Committee under the Local Government Act and therefore its meetings are not open to the public.

Negotiations between the councils and Candetti Constructions for an aquatic facility ended in November last year after the company could not deliver a complete and sustainable business case for such a proposal.