ICELAND. Eskifjordur. 2007. People relaxing in the hot waters of an outdoor swimming pool in Eskifjordur, one of the two towns adjacent to the Alcoa Fjardaal smelter. The towns in this area have been economically depressed for years, particularly with the decline of smallboat fisheries. Locals complain of declining populations and a bleak future. The arrival of the Alcoa smelter have made Eskifjordur and Reydarfjordur are small-scale 'boom-towns' with new construction and growing populations. A new $6 million swimming pool complex was built in Eskifjordur, significant for a town of only 1,000 people.