Lifeguard shortage could put a damper on your pool plans in Raleigh this summer
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Schools all over the Triangle will soon let out for summer and swimming pools will be jammed.
We've told you about the major shortage of lifeguards at city pools in Raleigh, now another lifeguard problem is threatening to keep pools closed longer.
City pools in Raleigh just opened up for the summer season and soon it will be full of more parents like Karen.
"We've been coming to the pool almost every single day since it's been open," said Karen Galvin, the mother to 3-year-old Nora. "I'm pregnant. Nora's learning how to swim. So this is our favorite activity to do."
The city was in need of 50 new lifeguards in May. They've had a burst of applicants and that number is down to 30, but most lifeguards work part time and can only work 1,000 hours. City of Raleigh Aquatics Director Terri Stroupe said more than 15 already met that cap.
"We're still taking applications for people who are certified lifeguards and we're basically trying to put them through the hiring process as quick as possible so we can get them on the pool deck," Stroupe said.
Stroupe said all nine of Raleigh's city pools will be open for the summer, but they've had to make some changes like closing earlier.
"Basically an hour earlier on weekdays and a couple hours on the weekends," Stroupe said.
The city is also having pools limit capacity.
"Once they meet a capacity limit for the number of lifeguards they have on duty, we will stop letting people in, and we'll only let people in once somebody leaves," Stroupe said.
Something Karen and Nora, hope doesn't happen.
"It would be hard," Galvin said. "We would have to find something new to do if the pool hours were cut, or if there were fewer days it were open."
If you want to know when the City of Raleigh pool closest to you is open this summer, check out the schedules for all nine pools, click here.
