Houston to announce additional pool openings amid lifeguard shortage – Houston Public Media

Summer temperatures are starting to get sweltering, but only 12 public pools are open around Houston at the start of the season after destructive storms and a national lifeguard shortage affected this year’s schedule.

As in previous years, the Houston Parks and Recreation Department is using a phased schedule to open public pools. The first group of six pools did not open until a week after the start of the season, on May 25. On Sunday, 12 public swimming pools were open.

Twenty-six municipal pools remain closed, but a third phase of opening additional pools is in the works, Matt Musil, a department spokesman, said Tuesday.

The community pool at the Neighborhood Center and Alief Park is expected to reopen next Tuesday. The third opening phase of the group could be announced in the coming days, he said. He said storm debris was scattered throughout public pools and a tree fell into one pool after last month’s devastating derecho.

“There are 37 pools that have the potential to be open this summer,” he said. “It depends on the situation of the rescuers. The 38th pool is Tidwell, which is under construction.

The parks service has struggled with a shortage of lifeguards for years. The city opened only 23 of 38 pools last year, 14 in 2022 and only 10 in 2021.

RELATED: Houston Parks Department Still Looking for More Lifeguards as City Pools Open for 2023 Swimming Season

The COVID-19 pandemic increased the shortage as social distancing meant fewer training opportunities, according to the American Lifeguard Association.

Musil could not immediately say how many lifeguards are currently employed by the department.

The department is still recruiting lifeguards for the 2024 swimming season. Starting pay for lifeguards is $16 an hour. Future lifeguards must be 16 years old.

Some swimming pools are closed on Mondays. The last day of the season is September 1.