This summer, Dallas plans to reopen all of its public swimming pools throughout the city. Last season, some remained closed.
A discussion about shutting down all the deteriorating public swimming pools for seniors.
.
The city commenced its gradual reopening of water parks, aquatic centers, and neighborhood swimming pools over the Memorial Day weekend. Smaller local pools will operate with limited hours afterward.
budget cuts last summer
, stated the Park and Recreation Department.
Initially, the department proposed
shutting down all nine neighborhood swimming pools
To cut expenses amid rising upkeep fees and a decline in the daily pool attendees, a strategy was proposed. This proposal, unveiled during one of the most scorching days of summer, faced strong opposition from numerous park board members.
“Each member of the Park Board fought hard to ensure our facility remained open, and currently, we operate three days a week,” clarified Aquatics Superintendent Raul Robles.
The city’s aquatic centers and water parks—which mostly opened more recently—will keep their usual operating schedules and will completely reopen to the public later this week, according to him.
Multiple neighborhood swimming pools remained closed throughout the previous summer following preseason inspections which revealed significant leaks, with some losing hundreds of gallons of water every hour. According to information acquired by WFAA via a public records request, the pool at Martin Weiss Park was draining around 470 gallons per hour, Grauwyler’s facility was losing approximately 490 gallons hourly, and the one at Walnut Hill was leaking roughly 680 gallons each hour back in spring 2024.
Currently, one of the major issues revolves around the infrastructure,” Robles stated. “These systems are outdated.
He mentioned that the neighborhood swimming pools are around 40 or 50 years old, and the city has difficulty locating replacement components for faulty machinery. Whenever neighboring municipalities modernize their aquatic facilities, Dallas tends to request their surplus parts, he stated.
The maintenance crew managed to gather sufficient funds for the required repairs during the winter season, ensuring that all the community pools can reopen.
“As per the recent tests conducted by our maintenance team, they barely identified any problems,” Robles stated.
Robles mentioned that the City is still working on its aquatics master plan, scheduled for presentation to both the Park Board and City Council this autumn. Until then, he encourages the community to take advantage of the enhanced aquatic activities available this summer—such as swimming classes and family-oriented festivities.
He suggested finding somewhere to cool down,’ he said. ‘Why not check out the City of Dallas pools?’
