It’s been a hot summer in Lubbock, Texas, a city of more than 200,000 that now boasts not a single open public swimming pool. With temperatures exceeding 100 degrees most days, residents can now cool of in one of the city’s newly constructed splash pads.

Two years ago, the city had four public pools for people to escape the blistering Texas heat. All closed now. While children are enjoying the new colorful ground sprays, water arches, and fill-and-spill buckets offered by the three new splash pads that were opened this summer to replace the city’s aging swimming pools, a lot of long-time residents are upset that the city wasn’t able to hold on to its pools.

The new splash pads are great for parents with small children, but they’re not so great for children much older than 10, says Adam Hernandez, a community advocate.

“It’s not the same as a pool or a mixed-use water park with a wave pool or lazy river,” Hernandez said. “There were lots of mistakes over time that led us here.”

In Lubbock, the main issue was neglect, he said.

Lubbock’s pools were in such disrepair that they needed to be rebuilt. A 2022 city report outlined some of the problems — outdated filter systems, unreliable draining, and dangerous diving boards were some of the items mentioned.

But rather than rebuilding, the city used $5.1 million from the American Rescue Plan to replace three of its four public pools with splash pads.

This summer, the city’s one remaining pool didn’t open: it needed repairs.

But Lubbock is only one American city that is experiencing the nationwide decline in public swimming amenities, a downward trend that’s been going on for decades.

In 2009, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimated that there were about 600,000 public swimming pools. Today, the Pool and Hot Tub Alliance estimates there is a little more than half that number. And data from the National Recreation and Park Association paints a more precise picture.

From this source, the decline in public pools can be accurately traced beginning in 2011, the earliest year for which the association has data.

Numerous cities in Texas have seen their public pools abandoned. From 2011 to 2024: Corpus Christi went from nine to six pools; Fort Worth from seven to three; Garland from four to one; Irving from nine to six.

But it’s not just Texas. Tulsa, Oklahoma, had 24 public pools in 2011. Today, it has five. Wichita, Kansas, lost five pools in that time period. Lexington, Kentucky, lost four.

Overall, the number of U.S. public pools has been declining in recent years even as the population increases and temperatures rise. Several factors have contributed to this trend: Many municipalities face financial pressures, leading to reduced funding for non-essential services like public pools. This has resulted in closures without replacement in many areas.

Part of that is because the cost of maintaining aging pool infrastructure can be prohibitively high. Many public pools are decades old and require significant repairs or upgrades, leading cities to close them rather than invest in costly renovations.

Rising concerns about liability and the costs associated with ensuring pools meet modern safety standards have also contributed to closures.

In some urban areas, land that was once dedicated to public pools is being repurposed for other uses, contributing to the overall decline.

That means that some communities are shifting resources to other recreational facilities, such as splash pads, which are often seen as more cost-effective and safer alternatives to traditional swimming pools.

But many fear that the loss of the country’s public pools poses an actual threat to public safety. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drowning deaths are on the rise. From 2020 to 2022, drownings have increased by 500 deaths per year, compared to 2019 and earlier.

The CDC’s No. 1 recommendation for prevention is to increase access to swim lessons, a suggestion that’s difficult to implement if you don’t have the pools.