ST. LOUIS — Some public pools in the St. Louis area will not open for the summer due to the coronavirus pandemic.
At the beginning of the pandemic, several restaurants, entertainment venues and other businesses temporarily closed their doors. Some of those businesses have already started reopening as cities and counties have lifted stay-at-home orders.
Some pools across the area will open as scheduled while others will remain closed throughout the entire summer.
Here is a list of pools remaining closed:
Wentzville aquatic facilities
Wentzville Parks and Recreation announced its aquatic facilities would not open for the season. The facilities include Splash Aquatic Center and Progress Park pools.
The city said it explored many options but made the decision not to open based on “a variety of factors including health and safety, staffing concerns, and finances.”
“We understand what an important part of summer pools play for families, and we hope to continue to find other ways to celebrate summer with our community,” the city said on Facebook.
Anyone who purchased season passes or registered for aquatic programs will receive refunds. Click here for more information.
Webster Groves
On June 3, Webster Groves Parks and Recreation decided it would not be opening the aquatic center at 33 East Glendale Road for the summer of 2020.
Troy Aquatic Center
The Troy Aquatic Center in Tory, Missouri, will remain closed for the summer. The city made the announcement on Facebook this week.
“Like many of you, we are disappointed and understand this may not be the most popular decision,” the city said. “However, at this time, there are far too many unanswered questions and unknown situations on the horizon.”
The city said they took “financial unknowns” into account when making the decision. They said the statewide stay-at-home order negatively affected the town’s revenue estimates for the remainder of the fiscal year.
“Allocating time and money towards opening the pool would be a financial risk, especially since the pool was not guaranteed to open due to this crisis,” they said.
Click here to read the full post on Facebook.
Manchester Aquatic Center
The City of Manchester Board of Alderman made the decision to close the Manchester Aquatic Center for the 2020 summer season.
The cancellation includes the Manchester Stingrays swim team, swim lesson programs and all aquatic exercise classes.
The city’s Fourth of July celebration was also cancelled along with the Manchester Community Band concert series, ArtFest and Tons of Trucks events.
City of St. Louis
On May 8, Mayor Lyda Krewson announced details about the plan to reopen the city on May 18.
She said pools, playgrounds and sports fields will remain closed. Restaurants and other businesses like retail, barbershops, hair and nail salons will be allowed to reopen.
Alligator’s Creek Aquatic Center
On May 14, O'Fallon, Missouri, officials said Alligator’s Creek Aquatic Center's opening date will be delayed until June 1.
They said they are delaying the opening date to give staff plenty of time to prep the facility and train on social distancing and other requirements to have in place when it opens.
Officials said they have taken every precaution to keep the facility clean and said they are hopeful they can have "a fun and exciting summer at Alligator’s Creek."
RiverChase Recreation Center
RiverChase temporarily closed its doors in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Fenton Parks & Recreation said the pool would be closed until further notice and hasn’t given an update since March.
A month ago, RiverChase made a post on Facebook about deep cleaning the facility during the closure.
“We will be clean and ready once we are able to reopen for all of our dearly missed members, guests and staff.”
Here is a list of pools opening for the season:
St. Charles aquatic facilities
On May 6, the St. Charles Park & Recreation Department announced what will open and what is staying closed.
The city’s aquatic facilities will open as scheduled on May 23. Fitness classes, dance classes, volleyball and softball leagues are also going on as planned.
The DuSable Dog Park, McNair Basketball Court, playgrounds will remain closed and the C.O.P.S. Camp and Pickleball Tournament have been canceled.
Click here for a full list of what’s closed and what’s open.
St. Louis County officials said County Executive Sam Page will announce on Friday more details about the reopening of the county on May 18. The county said pools will not be part of that announcement but will "remain under consideration."
Not all pools in the area have made decisions about closures and openings. 5 On Your Side will continue to update this list.