

Two major factors are leading to the shortage. “We sold as much as we sell in the entire summer season in two weeks last year.”

“It was a struggle to get chlorine last year,” said Bob Jones, president at American Sale. WMAQ-TV reports:Īfter the worst chlorine shortage on record last year, many pool supply stores are still implementing quantity restrictions on customers to manage the ongoing crisis. During the pandemic, more people used backyard pools. If some pools stay closed because they can’t find enough lifeguards, perhaps it will ease the two-year shortage of chlorine. Chlorine shortage will delay other pool openings This has to be in 2021 as early as October and November and we have just not seen the number of returning pool lifeguards first and foremost and we have not been able to pick up new lifeguards,” Daniel Betts said. “We started really recruiting aggressively six… seven months ago. The director of the Cincinnati Recreation Commission said as of now only eight of the 23 pools across 52 communities will open due to a shortage of lifeguards. “I feel pretty bad because it’s going to be a hot summer and these kids need something to do besides being in the house on these phones all the time,” Walnut Hills resident Kineshia Miles said. But the pandemic “stopped us in our tracks,” forcing a training and hiring freeze which lasted for more than a year and the effects of which still linger, Jay said.ĭue to some staffing issues, Cincinnati’s Recreation Commission announced that only eight of the city’s 23 pools will open this season - which has some in the community unhappy.
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In Texas, Austin officials upped their pay to ranges of $16 to $19 an hour, and added roughly $1,250 in bonuses, along with paid sick leave and a free bus pass.Īustin had no trouble recruiting before Covid-19, hiring more lifeguards in 2019 than any other year, according to Jodi Jay, assistant director for the city’s Parks and Recreation department. The base hourly wage there is roughly $14.02, officials said in a March news release. Phoenix, Arizona, officials announced earlier this year they’re offering a $2,500 bonus incentive for lifeguards, partly as a reimbursement for training costs. CNN found that city after city has raised their lifeguards’ pay, and some added some sweeteners to attract applicants: Young people are not as interested in lifeguarding as they used to be. The pandemic shut down training classes for a couple of years. There are lots of reasons for the shortage. Roughly half an hour away, Waukesha County leaders announced last week all of its park system beaches operate under Swim At Your Own Risk rules, and will not have lifeguards “due to the labor shortage.” Wisconsin’s Milwaukee County is keeping 10 pools closed for now, having hired about 56 lifeguards of the 300 they would need. The city has been able to hire just over 30% of the 750 lifeguards required to operate all the pools, according to a news release. Officials in Austin say the city will have fewer than of its pools open by early June. The American Lifeguard Association says up to half of all pools in the country need lifeguards. Safety experts say a big national shortage of lifeguards could have deadly consequences this summer. Sign up here to have it delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Covering COVID-19 is a daily Poynter briefing of story ideas about the coronavirus and other timely topics for journalists, written by senior faculty Al Tompkins.
