In a good-news/continued-bad-news situation, the parks department announced yesterday that Barton Springs will resume normal operating hours on Mondays starting on Memorial Day. In addition, Deep Eddy Pool’s shallow end will be open starting at noon on weekdays. However, the news came with a reminder of why the pools were operating on abbreviated hours in the first place. Despite a hiring push and help from City Council in the way of funding and waived training fees, the city still has just 31.2 percent of the lifeguards needed to staff city swimming pools. Because of this, the city will have staggered openings for its pools. Tier One pools, which are open now, are Barton Springs, Bartholomew, Deep Eddy, Springwoods and Stacy. On June 6, Tier Two pools will open: Balcones, Dick Nichols, Dove Springs, Garrison, Govalle, Montopolis, Northwest, Rosewood, Shipe and Westenfield. According to a press release about the pool openings, “Additional pools will be opened as more lifeguards are hired and ready to work.” Find lifeguard applications and hiring details here and more information about city pools here.
Elizabeth Pagano is the editor of the Austin Monitor. More by Elizabeth Pagano