‘No options’: City of Durham operating just one outdoor pool this summer after closures

DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) — With a lack of options to swim in the city, some families in Durham are feeling a little left out to dry.

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Keyana Moss takes her children to Hillside Pool several times a week.

“Definitely could use some more options, especially on days where it’s busy and then this one gets max capacity,” Moss said. “There’s no options or other, closer spaces for people who don’t live in this area.”

Hillside is the city’s only open outdoor pool for the summer. Long Meadow Pool shut down a few years ago, and Forest Hills Pool just closed for good this year.

Durham Parks and Recreation said Forest Hills Pool is more than 100 years old.

“We’ve been planning to close it for probably a little over a year now,” DPR Culture and Community Manager Mary Unterreiner said. “This year, we didn’t open it because of budget cuts that came in, so it was a little bit of a cost savings this season.”

Some people are also frustrated that the city’s spraygrounds aren’t open yet due to the drought.

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“We’re also in a little bit of a challenge right now with the drought citywide, and so that’s impacting the use of our spraygrounds,” Unterreiner said. “But typically our spraygrounds, we have three of those, those would be open as well and we hope to get those up and running again soon once we’re out of the drought.”

Many families searching for outdoor resources told CBS 17 they’d be out of luck without the Hillside Pool.

“[We would] have to find something to do and play around at home,” Moss said.

Durham Parks and Recreation said the city is building a recreational pool around East End Park, as well as a new Aquatic Center at Merrick-Moore Park. Both are slated to be completed in 2030.

Forest Hills will also undergo a renovation of the playground and sprayground.

For those seeking indoor options, the city currently operates the Edison Johnson Aquatic Center and Campus Hills Pool.

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