Washington city pool closing Friday after unique season

WASHINGTON - On a warm and sunny day, Emmie Moeller and Everlee Wheeldon played in the pool, two of very few kids utilizing the cool water on Wednesday, just days before the center closes for the season.

On Friday, the Washington Steele Family Aquatic Center will close after a unique season.

Moeller's mother and aunt to Wheeldon said the girls had attended the pool a handful of times throughout the season. She said their favorite part is being able to jump in and enjoy the pool.

Normally, the pool opens in May, but it was unable to open then due to the restrictions put in place by Gov. Kim Reynolds in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The pool officially opening June 26 with special restrictions and cleaning guidelines in place.

Though it was a short season, Samantha Van Houten, aquatic director, said it went well.

'People were pretty respectful of other people's space, even in the pool,” Van Houten said.

Graduated senior and lifeguard Ellie Todd said it was a good season.

'We had a good number of guards and a good number of people show up,” Todd said.

Each day was split into two shifts, one from 1-3:30 p.m. and the second from 4-7 p.m. The 30 minutes between were used to clean the facility. Todd said she liked the two shifts.

This year cleaning procedures were enhanced. Lifeguards disinfected the chairs, along with disinfecting the bathrooms.

Todd said it was weird constantly cleaning compared to other years.

'We do clean everything, but this was an escalated scale,” Todd said.

Along with temperature checks and many signs hanging up with reminders to social distance and check symptoms, Todd said there were a lot of changes this year she never expected.

Van Houten previously said they expected low numbers this year due to the late start, limited capacity and the high rate of individuals buying their own pools.

Though the swimming season is over, some pools offer a special swimming opportunity.

The Kalona City Pool is offering an opportunity for dogs to cool off from the summer heat. On Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon, the Kalona City Pool is having a free event for dogs to swim before the pool is drained.