The closures will allow pool maintenance staff to service and monitor the nine open pools to remain in compliance with county environmental health guidelines for municipal pools, reports NBC 7’s Mari Payton.
Four municipal pools in the city of San Diego will be temporarily closed beginning Monday as a result of a nationwide shortage of carbon dioxide, the county said Saturday.
The shortage is due in large part to supply chain issues exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, City of San Diego spokesman Jose Ysea said.
CO2 is used to help balance and maintain the pH levels in the pool water, Ysea said.
"As a CO2 replacement during the shortage, maintenance crews will be continually applying muriatic acid, a common chemical used in backyard pools, as a safe alternative and will regularly monitor each pool to ensure pH levels are safe for the public," Ysea said.
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The closures will allow pool maintenance staff to service and monitor the nine open pools to remain in compliance with county environmental health guidelines for municipal pools. Current maintenance staffing is inadequate to perform monitoring at all city pools, officials said.
The CO2 shortage was not expected to affect contractual agreements with San Diego Unified School District and San Diego Community College District athletics programs.
The four pools that will temporarily close starting Monday are:
-- Carmel Valley, 3777 Townsgate Drive, San Diego;
-- Colina Del Sol 4150 54th Place, San Diego (aquatics programming will be absorbed into City Heights Swim Center, 4380 Landis St., San Diego);
-- Kearny Mesa, 3170 Armstrong St., San Diego (programming will be relocated to Swanson Pool, 3585 Governor Drive, San Diego);
-- Martin Luther King Jr., 6401 Skyline Drive, San Diego (programming will be absorbed into City Heights Swim Center, 4380 Landis St., San Diego).
Two of the pools to be closed, Colina Del Sol and Martin Luther King Jr., have leaks that were recently identified and repair work will be conducted during the closures. Additional fall and winter maintenance will be performed at all four closed pools.
No timetable was provided for the four pools to reopen, and the city will continue to seek alternate sources of CO2 to have the pools operating as soon as possible, Ysea said.
Residents were asked to contact their local municipal pool for updated hours and programming.
More information about the city's municipal pools and available aquatics programs can be found at sandiego.gov/pools.
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that Jose Ysea is with the City of San Diego, not the county.
