Lower Valley Pool Closes Unexpectedly And Will Remain Closed For At Least 2 Years

El Paso public pools are aging out, and a Lower Valley pool that closed without warning at the beginning of the summer is expected to stay closed for at least two years.

The Lionel Forti pool was going to open this summer, but the City Parks and Rec Department said when they were doing the regular maintenance to get it ready for the season, they discovered that the roof in the bathhouse was sagging. They decided to not open the pool, and now there is word that they will be demolishing the existing facility and rebuilding a new, state-of-the-art aquatic facility.

Residents say they were not doing enough to maintain the pool and that is why it fell into disrepair.

Parks and Rec says they are going to spend about 4 million dollars to rebuild Lionel Forti, but it will take at least two years. They say they will be holding meetings with residents to discuss the plan and get feedback from the community.

Swimming pools are a great idea, but they are really expensive to maintain. Perhaps a really amazing splash pad-type facility would be a better bet in this case. It could have different areas for kids of all ages and abilities to enjoy. It just seems like the City doesn't want to be in the pool business anymore, so they should stop wasting taxpayer money and build something that is easier to maintain.