Why America stopped building public pools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public pools are so revolting. I wouldn't even touch the water.

You might as well invite the neighbors over to take a bath with you. Gross.

How is that different from private pools? Please explain...

The difference should be pretty obvious.

[Anonymous]

The history of integrating the public pools in DC is painful and fascinating. It took awhile. The Post writes about it from time to time:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/bathing-suits-and-civil-rights-integrating-the-districts-pools-was-not-easy/2017/06/10/e3efcf3a-4c4c-11e7-a186-60c031eab644_story.html

In addition to racism, and the expense of maintenance, liability issues are real. That's one reason why new fancy condo buildings have rooftop pools that are only about 3 feet deep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The history of integrating the public pools in DC is painful and fascinating. It took awhile. The Post writes about it from time to time:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/bathing-suits-and-civil-rights-integrating-the-districts-pools-was-not-easy/2017/06/10/e3efcf3a-4c4c-11e7-a186-60c031eab644_story.html

In addition to racism, and the expense of maintenance, liability issues are real. That's one reason why new fancy condo buildings have rooftop pools that are only about 3 feet deep.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Temperatures like this have happened on the planet before and even while our human ancestors were around. Global temperatures have only been tracked since about 1880. So not a long historical record.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public pools are so revolting. I wouldn't even touch the water.

You might as well invite the neighbors over to take a bath with you. Gross.

How is that different from private pools? Please explain...

The difference should be pretty obvious.

No, it's not. Are the butts of private pool members cleaner than visitors to public pools?

[Anonymous]

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1132168.page

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1132168.page

Wow, pg pool is terrible

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public pools are so revolting. I wouldn't even touch the water.

You might as well invite the neighbors over to take a bath with you. Gross.

How is that different from private pools? Please explain...

The difference should be pretty obvious.

No, it's not. Are the butts of private pool members cleaner than visitors to public pools?

No. Not at all. But there might be more people trying to swim in a public pool. Hopefully, someone would be vigilant about monitoring/adding chemicals.

[Anonymous]

+1 on growing up in white Boston suburb in the 1970s with no public pool & no pools in schools. Well, what they called the “town pool” had concrete borders on each end, & sand on the other 2 sides. So it was a glorified swimmin’ hole. Water was so murky that a kid drowned & nobody noticed his body for hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in a town in NJ that was mostly white and there weren’t any community pools. First time I ever heard of such a thing was when I moved to VA. Nobody cared at all. Why would there be shared pools?

Same experience in NY. It wasn’t as hot as VA but there wasn’t the obsessive pool and swim culture. When my kids were younger, we didn’t belong to a pool because of wait lists. We went to the rec centers, the Watermine and spray parks. There were plenty of public options.

I’m also from New York and there was absolutely obsessive swim and pool culture, especially at the high school level. The stark difference I have noticed is that while my (suburban NYC) summer swim team was competing area municipalities, the NoVa swim teams are all private pools.

Interesting comparison. You and a couple of other posters are from areas close to NYC, possibly more similar to here. I am from central NY, which was not as wealthy. Swim teams were not popular. While we could go to the indoor local Y to swim, it just didn’t happen for families. At least the ones I knew.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been on a community pool board, it is hard work and most people don’t acknowledge your efforts. Maintenance costs for equipment and the club house are high. Computer and billing records are a pain.

Most pools outsource seasonal maintenance and lifeguards to a third party which screw ed us during the pandemic. The contract was enforced even though we had to give our members a buy year for a pool that could not be used.

I enjoyed the pool when my kids were little but back then the $500 annual dues was a lot and now I know it’s a huge undertaking no one wants to pay for.

We stayed open. I still hear from members that it was a good decision. Our management company was going to charge us 50% of the contract if we closed, so in March of 2020 we decided we would open as soon as we were allowed to do so. By the end of May we were open for lap swim. As the summer season progressed we adapted as VA rules changed. The management company did adjust our contract.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Public pools are so revolting. I wouldn't even touch the water.

You might as well invite the neighbors over to take a bath with you. Gross.

Well, nobody is forcing you to do so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in a town in NJ that was mostly white and there weren’t any community pools. First time I ever heard of such a thing was when I moved to VA. Nobody cared at all. Why would there be shared pools?

Same experience in NY. It wasn’t as hot as VA but there wasn’t the obsessive pool and swim culture. When my kids were younger, we didn’t belong to a pool because of wait lists. We went to the rec centers, the Watermine and spray parks. There were plenty of public options.

I’m also from New York and there was absolutely obsessive swim and pool culture, especially at the high school level. The stark difference I have noticed is that while my (suburban NYC) summer swim team was competing area municipalities, the NoVa swim teams are all private pools.

Interesting comparison. You and a couple of other posters are from areas close to NYC, possibly more similar to here. I am from central NY, which was not as wealthy. Swim teams were not popular. While we could go to the indoor local Y to swim, it just didn’t happen for families. At least the ones I knew.

I went to high school near in the Southern Tier of New York in a low income, working class community. My high school had a swimming pool in the school and we had to pass a swim test in PE. There is also an outdoor pool in town - I just looked it up and the "season" pass is very inexpensive - $80 for the season for a family pass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public pools are so revolting. I wouldn't even touch the water.

You might as well invite the neighbors over to take a bath with you. Gross.

How is that different from private pools? Please explain...

The difference should be pretty obvious.

No, it's not. Are the butts of private pool members cleaner than visitors to public pools?

No. Not at all. But there might be more people trying to swim in a public pool. Hopefully, someone would be vigilant about monitoring/adding chemicals.

Pools inspect their water several times a day. There is nothing cleaner about private pool water.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Public pools are so revolting. I wouldn't even touch the water.

You might as well invite the neighbors over to take a bath with you. Gross.

How is that different from private pools? Please explain...

The difference should be pretty obvious.

No, it's not. Are the butts of private pool members cleaner than visitors to public pools?

No. Not at all. But there might be more people trying to swim in a public pool. Hopefully, someone would be vigilant about monitoring/adding chemicals.

Pools inspect their water several times a day. There is nothing cleaner about private pool water.

I did not say it was cleaner. I'm saying public pools are often more crowded. Yes, pools should have staff to check the water several times a day. Do you honestly think they do in every community that has public pools?