County swimming pools will likely remain closed, private pools will open soon

Summer heat is just around the corner, and with that normally comes summer swim season and cooling off by your favorite community pool. 

This year, however, the coronavirus pandemic is changing everything.

All park facilities are closed until further notice in Prince William County, however, trials at the county’s parks are open. 

“Because we do not have a date certain that operations will resume, we cannot say definitively when summer programming will be available again or pools will reopen,’ Prince William County Parks and Recreation Department spokesman Brent Heavener said.

In Stafford County, hiking trails inside county parks are open but facilities are closed until May 1, pending re-evaluation.

It’s likely public swimming pools won’t be opened to the public by Memorial Day weekend, as they have in years past. For personal pool owners, it’s a different story.

Residential pools are generally opened up in late April or May, but this year pool owners are opting to open them up sooner than usual. 

“This year we’re seeing a trend where more people are opening early this year just for the simple fact that they’re bored,” said David Muirhead, owner of the pool maintenance company Northern Virginia Pool Scouts.

When opening your pool, make sure to replace filter plugs, remove any return plugs, and get rid of as much debris as possible.

In order for the pools to be safe for human use during the coronavirus outbreak, three to five ppm is the recommended chlorine level. Pools should be tested once a week to maintain proper chemical levels.

The CDC has stated that there’s no evidence that coronavirus can be spread through pools and that proper pool maintenance should get rid of the virus that causes coronavirus.

Though many industries have been hit hard during this pandemic, the pool industry hasn’t been one of them.

“I think it’s helped the pool industry somewhat,” Muirhead said. “Homeowners are doing whatever they can while they have the time off.”

Northern Virginia Pool Scouts has remained open and taken precautions such as driving separately, sanitizing doorknobs, and maintaining distance from homeowners in order to protect employees and customers during the coronavirus crisis.