With schools out and the sun soon awakening from its June gloom slumber, parents and kids heading to their nearest Los Angeles County swimming pool should first check the pool’s open hours — or they may be left high and dry.
The 25 seasonal county swimming pools have cut their operating hours in half due to shortages of lifeguards, the county reported.
Normally, the county pools operate six days a week in summer. But because there are not enough lifeguards to go around this year, the county is staggering operating days and hours to spread staffing at each facility.
Half of the pools will be open Monday, Wednesday and Friday and the other half will operate Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, explained Hugo Maldonado, operations manager who oversees the aquatics program for the county Department of Parks and Recreation.
“We are experiencing a significant lifeguard shortage. As a consequence, our seasonal pools will be open on a staggered schedule. Instead of six days a week, it is three days a week,” he said on Monday, June 12. The summer schedule begins the week of June 19.
Year-round pools will remain operational six days a week, including the new Greater Whittier Regional Aquatic Center and the San Fernando Regional Pool. All county pools are closed on Sundays.
On days when a summer season pool is not open, a county resident can find a year-round pool nearby, or a pool with the opposite operating schedule that’s open, he said.
The department also staffs lifeguards at three county park swim beaches. At Bonelli Regional Park in San Dimas, hours will be curtailed to Monday through Friday. Swim beach hours at Castaic Lake and Santa Fe Dam in Irwindale will be open seven days a week and are not impacted, he said. Splash pads are also not affected.
To check out county pool hours and programming such as classes and water polo, go to: https://parks.lacounty.gov/aquatics/.
When lifeguard numbers dropped, the department limited days of operation in…
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