El Paso City, County Pools Will Not Reopen This Summer

Texas governor Greg Abbott has given municipalities the green light to reopen their pools.

Woo-hoo, just in time for El Paso’s summer heat, too! Yeah, not so fast there, Skippy. Despite the state's latest executive order, El Pasoans can forget about splish-splashing away at a city or county run pool or running through one of the water features at a splash pad.

While lingering COVID-19 safety concerns is partly the reason, the financial hit local governments have taken because of the pandemic is mostly why the City of El Paso has chosen to keep them closed.

The city's strategic communications director, Laura Cruz-Acosta, confirmed to 93.1 KISS-FM in a May 6 email that none of the indoor and outdoor pools, or spray parks will reopen despite the governor's okay to do so.

All the aquatics programs will remain closed due to COVID-19 budget impacts through the summer and for the foreseeable future -- Laura Cruz-Acosta

Relief from the heat will be hard to come by outside city limits as well. El Paso County Parks has also confirmed that while Ascarate Park is open for fishing, kayaking and golf, they will continue to keep the county pools at Ascarate, Fabens and Canutillo closed through the summer.

And while Wet 'N' Wild Waterworld, the 60-acre water park in Anthony, is committed to opening at some point in the summer, its season is currently on hold until "federal, state and county authorities have determined it is safe" to open.