Drought Dries Up Summer Fun as City Shuts Down Water Play Area

Pasadena has decided to close the Splash Pad water play facility at La Pintoresca Park for the whole summer of 2015 as the city strives to achieve a 28% water conservation goal in line with state-mandated reductions due to the four-year drought. The city will continue to operate four public swimming pools, however.

The Splash Pad is a compact water park where kids splash around and keep cool under sprays of water coming from circular plastic pipes, rotating buckets and mini-fountains.

Mercy Santoro, Director of Human Services and Recreation said her department is exploring for ways to upgrade the facility’s equipment so that it can collect and recirculate water used during operations.

Santoro, in a memorandum to City Manager Michael Beck, said that the four swimming pools that will remain open are those at Blair High School at 1201 S. Marengo Avenue, Pasadena High School on Sierra Madre Blvd., Robinson Park Recreation Center at Fair Oaks Avenue, and at the Villa-Parke Community Center along E. Villa Street.

All of these pools will be open for recreational swim from 1 to 3:30 p.m. The Villa-Parke pool will be open on Saturdays, 1 to 3 p.m., while the Blair High School pool will also be open on Sundays from noon up to 3 p.m.

For youth ages 6 to 17 and seniors ages 50 and over, recreational swim fees will be $1. Children from 5 years old and under can swim free of charge, but all minors must be accompanied by an adult at all times. Visitors aged 18 to 49 are charged $2.50 for recreational swim.

As part of the Parks After Dark Program, these pools will be open in the evenings starting in July, free of charge for family swim.

“The Villa-Parke swimming pool will be open from 7 to 10 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays, and the Robinson’s Park Community Center pool will be open from Wednesday through Saturday, 7 to 10 p.m.,” Santoro said in the memo.

Free films will be shown in the evenings for a drive-in movie experience, and swimming lessons are offered throughout the summer. Swimming scholarships will also be available.

Residents can check operating hours and featured events at the pools by calling (626) 744-7330.