Saturday, May 27, 2000
Area pool openings to dip due
to drought
By John Starbuck
Reporter-News Staff Writer
If Throckmorton youngsters see their summer
fun swirl down the drain, they can’t blame the drought.
Citing the high cost of maintenance, the
Throckmorton City Council decided not to open the town’s
swimming pool, which has been a primary source of recreation during
the scorching summer months. But local residents are trying to
convince their elected officials to keep it open for the children.
The drought does have other area cities
split on whether opening their pools is more important than saving
the water required.
Winters City Manager Aref Hassan said he
feels badly that officials had to keep the city pool closed because
of the drought. In summers past, about 50 children frequented
the Olympic-sized pool on a daily basis.
“I know the kids will be disappointed,
which breaks my heart,’’ Hassan said. “But I have
to keep the water for them to drink, take a bath and flush the
commode. God help us that we get a big rain and we might still
be able to open it.”
Abilene’s two city pools will open
today and remain open until August.
Water use restrictions allow Abilene pools
to be filled only once every two weeks. Abilene’s aquatics
supervisor Anita Vigil said water conservation measures will include
automatic shut-offs in the showers and using pool surface cleaners
that don’t require water.
The Las Brisas apartment complex, which
has three pools, has purchased special pool filters that will
save on water use, said Karrie Rasor, the complex’s assistant
manager. She said workers will add more water when needed rather
than draining and refilling the pool.
Dwayne Hargesheimer, director of Abilene’s
water utilities, said apartment complex owners understand the
need to be water conscious with swimming pools.
“They know if they abuse that privilege,
they could lose it,” he said. “I don’t think it’s
going to be a major problem at the (drought) stage we are in right
now.”
Sweetwater officials decided to open the
city pool despite the drought because about 9,000 people have
used it each of the past five summers, said Paul McCarthy, director
of city services. Firefighters filled the pool as they tested
their hoses, he said.
Because of a water leak, the Comanche Trail
Park municipal pool in Big Spring will remain closed this summer
for the first time since being built in 1935. Repair estimates
ranged from $10,000 to $30,000, but no money is available, city
officials said.
In Roscoe, well water will enable the city
pool to open today. Officials expect to have about 70 children
swimming in it.
Anson’s pool, which opened Friday and
could be used by 200 youngsters over the next two months, was
filled with a mixture of well and city water.
City officials in Baird and Ballinger won’t
decide until next month about opening their pools. The Eastland
pool is having cracks repaired and officials don’t know if
they can open it before summer ends.
Many pools charge fees that range from 75
cents to $2 and stay open six days a week, mainly in the afternoon
and evening.
Throckmorton Mayor John Kunkel said though
children are charged $1.50, only about 25 kids regularly spend
time at the pool. He estimated about $5,000 is lost operating
the pool each summer.
“It’s always been a public service,”
Kunkel said. “But with low water sales, it makes that public
service awfully expensive.”
Throckmorton resident Claude “Pudge”
Rose, who plans to meet with the city council next week about
the swimming pool closure, contends the cost to maintain and operate
the pool is much lower.
He wants to tell the council that he has
people volunteering to make or pay for needed repairs, including
a new diving board, a lifeguard stand, a privacy fence and a water
chlorinator.
Drew Moses, 14, hopes Rose can change City
Hall’s collective mind. He said swimming in a supervised
pool is safer than splashing in Lake Throckmorton.
“I think they need to keep it open
because it keeps the kids off the streets and from getting into
trouble,” he said.
Correspondent Caryl Andrews contributed
to this story.
Contact regional writer John Starbuck
at 676-6728, (800) 588-6397 or starbuckj@abinews.com.
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Copyright ©2000,
Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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