12 June 2023

...But, It's A Dry Heat! |Jessica Boehm

 Unlikely excuse "...the pandemic disrupted the pipeline."

11 Phoenix pools won't open this summer because of lifeguard shortage

Illustration of lifeguard towers stylized as a downward trending bar chart, shrinking in size.

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

For the third summer in a row, Phoenix has to keep some of its public pools closed due to a lack of lifeguards.

State of play: 18 of the city's 29 pools will open for at least one month this summer.

  • 12 pools will operate for the whole season, while the Cielito, Harmon and Perry pools will open only in June and the Falcon, Pierce and University pools will open only in July.

Context: This is an upgrade from last summer's 14 open pools and the 12 that invited swimmers in 2021. The city didn't open any of its public pools in 2020 because of the pandemic.

Why it matters: Public pools can be a refuge from the Phoenix heat, especially in neighborhoods with fewer residential pools.

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