May 24 – The opening of Bicentennial Pool has been postponed until further notice due to a leak, the city of Santa Fe announced Friday.
The city’s only outdoor pool, Bicentennial Pool on Alto Street, is typically open between Memorial Day and Labor Day during the summer season. The swimming pool will be closed in 2021 due to renovation works.
Brian Stinett, director of the city’s recreation department, said workers discovered a leak in the pool but are still working to determine its location. The pool cannot be certified by the New Mexico Environment Department as safe to reopen until the leak is found and fixed, he said.
“We are doing everything we can to find the leak and plan repairs,” he said.
The city has three other pools: at Fort Marcy Park, the Genoveva Chavez Community Center and the Salvador Perez Recreation Center. According to information on the city’s website, the Fort Marcy Pool will be closed starting Saturday for a boiler replacement.
Stinett said he could not comment Friday on how long the replacement is expected to take.
“It just depends on the contractor and their timeline,” he said.
Programs at the Chavez Center will be expanded to “maximum capacity” while the Bicentennial Pool is closed, the news release said. Summer programs begin June 3, Stinett said.
Salvador Perez Pool is also undergoing a boiler replacement “to improve the consistency of pool temperatures throughout the facility,” according to the city’s website. It is planned to reopen to the public on June 3.
Like municipalities across the country, the city has struggled in recent years to hire enough lifeguards to keep all pools open during regular summer hours. Some Recreation Division employees are also absent due to injuries, Stinett said Friday.
“We still have a significant deficit” for this summer, he said.
The city has hired a number of interns and should be in a better position by mid-June, he said.
A number of full-time and part-time lifeguard positions are advertised on the city’s online hiring portal, Stinnet said. Those interested in applying can visit santafenm.gov/how-to-apply.
