WATERTOWN — For 109 years, generations of area residents have learned how to swim in the lap pool at the downtown YMCA.
But that long history with the community has come to an end.
The Watertown Family YMCA Board of Directors has announced that the pool that served so many will be closed permanently after a structural evaluation determined it was no longer safe.
The pool recently was drained and won’t be refilled, YMCA CEO Denise K. Young said.
Results of the most recent assessment recommended the closure and decommissioning of the pool to ensure the safety of members and guests, she said.
With the age of the lap pool, the YMCA has “done due diligence and conducted structural assessments twice in the past five years,” she said.
Despite the lap pool’s closure, the YMCA will offer lap pool swim opportunities at varying times in the recreational pool at the downtown center.
The Watertown High School pool also will be open to lap pool swimmers from 6:15 a.m. to 7:15 a.m. during the week, by appointment only through GroupEx PRO at the YMCA beginning on July 5.
The downtown facility’s lap pool has been a community asset for more than a century.
Five generations of Jefferson County residents learned to swim at the YMCA.
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