Community Corner
Barton Springs Pool In City Of Austin Will Close Mondays And Wednesdays Due To A Lack Of Available Open Water Lifeguards
Training resumed in the spring of 2021; however, the staffing deficit has been difficult to overcome.
March 10, 2022
Due to a lack of available certified Open Water Lifeguards, Barton Springs Pool will close on Mondays and Wednesdays beginning Monday, March 21.
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Due to a lack of available certified Open Water Lifeguards, Barton Springs Pool will close two days a week – Mondays and Wednesdays – beginning Monday, March 21, along with the regular Thursday cleaning closure from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Apply to be a lifeguard at Lifeguardaustin.com.
Find out what's happening in Austinfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
In response to COVID-19, the Department’s Aquatic Division ceased training and onboarding lifeguards during spring break of 2020. Training resumed in the spring of 2021; however, the staffing deficit has been difficult to overcome. There are approximately 100 lifeguards on payroll that are trained with valid certifications and ready to work.
Because of its unique features, Barton Springs Pool, requires an additional Open Water Guard certification and training. There are only 23 certified Open Water Guards available to guard Barton Springs Pool. The Barton Springs guards also assist with training throughout the season and therefore, the Aquatic Division will be forced to close Barton Springs Pool on Mondays and Wednesdays until the staffing levels improve.
This schedule will go into effect beginning March 21, 2022 and will continue until a sufficient number of guards can be hired, trained, and certified. These closures will not affect the 5:00 AM – 8:00 AM swim times, which will remain “swim at your own risk.”
The Aquatic Division has made and will continue to make every attempt to have a fully operational schedule for the week of Spring Break (March 12 – March 20), but with staffing levels so low, modification to the pool schedule or temporary capacity limitations may need to be imposed if there are any fluctuations in staff availability.
For alternative swimming options on these closure days, please visit AustinTexas.gov/Pools.
This press release was produced by the City of Austin. The views expressed here are the author’s own.
