Bad News is We’re Still in a Drought. Good News is You’ll Be Able to Swim This Summer

City decreases number of accessible public pools from 35 to 12. Here’s a list of all 12.

GOOD NEWS: The City has opened another five extra pools for the 2018/2019 season (that's 17, compared to 2017's 12). And that means this information is outdated. For the full list of 17 swimming spots (PLUS: 8 extra private ones you didn't know you could go swim at), check out our updated post on public pools in Cape Town.

It’s going to be a very hot summer with these tough level 5 water restrictions, but the City of Cape Town has come up with a way to make sure we can all cool down responsibly.

They have just announced that 12 of the 35 municipal swimming pools will be accessible to the public. “Careful consideration went into selecting these facilities as they are easily accessible or located on a transport route. All of them have a maximum capacity of over 500 patrons and are equally represented across the four areas of the city,” said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security; and Social Services, Alderman JP Smith.

POOLS OPEN NOVEMBER 2017 – JANUARY 2018

The Sea Point swimming pool uses seawater and will therefore be open from 1 November – 31 January, between 07:00 – 19:00 daily during summer.

The Atlantis, Strand, Blue Downs Indoor, Khayelitsha, Bellville, Vulindlela, Retreat, Mnandi, Eastridge, Kensington and Hanover Park.

Open from 1 December 2017 – 31 January 2018, between 10:00 – 16:00 daily. 

“The goal is to ensure that the swimming pools are open as often and as long as possible, however, we must remind users that given the expected high usage of these swimming pools, operating hours will need to be adjusted from time to time in order to ensure that water quality remains at an optimum level. These changes will be communicated to the public via our website and social media channels”.

The city is able to do this through these innovative measures. All water backwashed from the swimming pools will be stored, treated, and reused and any water lost through evaporation will be replaced with water from the surrounding pools that will remain closed this season. No drinking water will be used to top up the pools.

In addition, showers and ablutions will be switched off and waterless hand sanitisers will be provided at most public washrooms.

To encourage the use of natural landmarks the City manages a number of beaches and tidal pools that the public have full access to. These areas have had Blue Flag status for a number of years, as well as lifeguards on duty as additional safety precautions. For a full list of the City’s tidal pools click here.

POOLS OPEN DURING SCHOOL HOLIDAYS 2017

The Strand, Retreat, Blue Downs and Long Street indoor swimming pools will be open during the upcoming school holidays between 1 – 8 October 2017. Thereafter, they will be closed in order to prepare for the peak season and will reopen on 1 December – 31 January (except for Long Street, which will remain closed).