Rain Drain
The dog days of summer are here, the time when temperatures are supposed to climb and Butler County community pools are supposed to be packed.
But the recent spate of fall-like temperatures and rain, as well as a generally cool summer, have kept the waters clearer than usual.
Still, managers say lifeguards must be on duty and pool chemicals monitored daily no matter the weather.
Dave Hutner is program and aquatics director for the Butler County Parks and Recreation Department and in charge of Alameda Pool in Butler Township. He said that while the pool typically sees 30,000 to 40,000 visitors in a season that runs from the week after Memorial Day to the week before Labor Day, attendance is down this year.
“Most of the summer has been cool. It's depressed attendance. We still have the swim lessons, swim teams, private pool parties and special events, but as far as general attendance goes, yes, we are definitely down,” said Hutner.
“It varies so much from day to day,” said Dawn Hajek, manager of South East Butler County — SEBCO — Pool in Jefferson Township. “When it's hot, we might have a couple of hundred people here. But on these milder days, the numbers are much lower. We may only have a dozen people.”
“Of course, with day camps, any weekday looks a lot busier than you might expect,” Hajek said.
Day campers are children who participate in programs either through the YMCA or day care centers that have organized outings at the pool.
But even warmer weather is no guarantee that swimmers will be able to enjoy the pool, said Cindy Caldwell, manager of EDCO Park & Pool in Evans City.
“We are definitely feeling the effects of the weather, and even on the hot days we have had storms,” said Caldwell. “Our pool kind of sits in a bowl, so sometimes we can hear the thunder and lightning before it gets here. Nobody can be in the pool for 20 minutes after the last thunder is heard.”
Weather doesn't prove as much of a factor for the three indoor pools at the Rose E. Schneider YMCA in Cranberry Township, said Karen Guise, the Y's aquatics director.
“You know it's pretty even,” said Guise. “The YMCA has summer camp programs, so the summer camp uses (the Y) while other people are at the outdoor pools (elsewhere). We are nonstop.“Depending on the time of day, we can have anywhere from 20 to 50 people at one time, according to our hourly tallies.”The Y's pools include a lap pool with a depth that goes from 3.5 to 7 feet; a warm water pool that goes from 3 to 5.5 feet; and a family fun pool that goes to three feet.“The family fun pool is more for smaller children,” she said. “It has water sprays and children's features.”Regardless of how many or how few people are in attendance, all the managers said it's important to have lifeguards on duty.“We have roughly 15 lifeguards on staff,” said Hajek. “All our lifeguards are first-aid trained. We have a good retention rate. Most of our guards come back unless they have outgrown it.”“Young people hold this place together,” Hajek said. “Most of them are college age or high school age.”Caldwell said, “We employ 13 lifeguards, and a lot of our kids have at least one other job. A lot of them work at the Y.”“We hire 75 lifeguards,” said Guise. “On average, we have three on duty, but during summer camps, we have five on duty.”
“They are all first-aid, lifeguard and CPR trained through the Red Cross,” said Guise of the Y's lifeguard contingent.Hutner said all of his employees, even those working the concession stand, are American Red Cross certified in first aid, CPR for professional rescuers and life guard techniques.Hunter said the contingent around Alameda Pool includes a supervisor, a cashier, a concession stand worker, five lifeguards actively scanning the pool and two more tending to maintenance duties and spelling the other lifeguards in the chairs.“I tell lifeguards that the job is 99 percent sheer boredom and 1 percent sheer terror,” said Hutner. “It can be pretty impactful for people.”“Lifeguards don't get enough respect. But they act professional, maintain that attitude and keep a safe pool,” Hutner added.Part of the lifeguard's job is monitoring the chemical content of the water, which is also key in maintaining safety, said Hajek.“The weather can cause problems. When it very hot, and we have a lot of swimmers in the pool, the filters will need cleaned more often,” Hajek said, “we vacuum and skim and clean those filters every day,” she said.
“The pool gets busier, the pool gets dirtier,” Hajek added. “We have do adjust the chlorine levels based on the heat and the sun. We do spot checks three times a day to make sure we are keeping our water chemistry where it should be, our pH and our chlorine.”“Our most important factor is keeping the water clean and making sure it is safe,” agreed Caldwell.“Every weather variable has a factor on water chemistry, and so does bather load. We are also checking water even on cool days because the temperature of the water affects water chemistry,” Caldwell said.“We check it so often because of the number of people who are in and out of it. If you don't check it, it can get out of whack and you don't want that,” Guise said.In addition to scheduling lifeguards, checking on the pool's chemistry and shepherding day campers, pool managers have to deal with state regulations.For example, Caldwell said, the Americans with Disabilities Act that went into effect two years ago brought new requirements.“All pools are required to have two forms of entry for disabled Americans,” said Caldwell. “We have stairs and we have a lift, so people out of a wheelchair can be lowered into the water.”“We have used our lift, which is very nice to have, but I can't say we've used it a whole lot, and I can't say we have used it this season,” Caldwell said.But even with the approach of Labor Day and the end of the season, work doesn't end for pool managers.
For one thing, there's maintenance, Hutner said.“We leave the water in the pool. We will drain it in late spring, early May, and do repairs,” he said, explaining that water needs to remain in place to keep the pool's plaster surface from drying out and keep the walls from buckling.And there is always fundraising.“We don't receive tax dollars. We are out there fundraising,” Caldwell said, adding EDCO will have a chicken barbecue on Aug. 24 and a snow golf outing in the park before the Super Bowl.
