Balcones Pool on Amherst Drive is closed on Mondays this summer to allow the city to perform regular maintenance.[/caption]

Austin ISD students celebrated the first day of summer vacation on June 5, but on that day only one of Northwest Austin’s three neighborhood pools was open, and all three will close before the first day of school Aug. 24.

Besides a shorter season, Northwest Austin neighborhood pools—Balcones Pool on Amherst Drive, Canyon Vista Pool on Spicewood Springs Road and Kennemer Pool on Payton Gin Road—are each closed one day a week. Municipal pools, including Walnut Creek and Springswoods, are also closed one day a week for maintenance but have a longer season and cost an entry fee.

Neighborhood associations are not happy about the reduced pool hours, and prospects to extend swimming season are bleak.

Milwood, Northwood, Walnut Crossing and Angus Valley Area neighborhood associations sent a May 28 letter challenging the cuts to Austin Mayor Steve Adler; Council member Leslie Pool, who chairs City Council’s Open Space, Environment and Sustainability Committee; and Sara Hensley, director of the Parks and Recreation Department.

“The loss of an entire day throughout the summer is unacceptable, especially due to the already limited dates throughout the year that the pool is open, and would result in a 20 percent reduction in swim team practice hours,” the associations wrote.

PARD data show attendance at Balcones Pool has steadily declined in the past five years, from nearly 22,000 attendees in fiscal year 2010 to 15,400 attendees in FY 2014. But in their letter, the associations argued the population surrounding Balcones Pool is ever-growing and pointed out the pool is the sixth most frequently used in the city. The associations asked the officials to reconsider pool cutbacks and provide at least the same schedule as last year.

In a June 3 response, Hensley defended the operating schedule, saying closing the neighborhood pools one day per week allows for maintenance and sustainability.

“PARD understands this is not the ideal pool schedule your neighborhoods desire; however it is a schedule that meets national ‘Best Practices’ for swimming pool operations,” Hensley wrote.

In an April 29 presentation to the Opens Spaces, Environment and Sustainability Committee, PARD Assistant Director Kimberly McNeeley said the city’s operating model for pools was not financially or environmentally sustainable.

“It’s a failing business plan,” she said.

Many city pools have underground leaks, which can be difficult and costly to find and fix, she said. Regularly scheduled maintenance days allows the department to stay on top of the aging infrastructure and spares residents from unexpected pool closures, she added.

At her presentation, McNeeley proposed closing two pools in District 3, but PARD ultimately kept all neighborhood pools open.

In October 2014, PARD  finalized an aquatics facilities needs assessment, which noted every pool in Austin is between 25 and 80 years old. City Council appropriated $6 million to spend on repairs for Govalle Pool in East Austin and Shipe Pool in Hyde Park, but the needs assessment estimated it would cost the city another $41 million to bring all of Austin’s pools into good repair.