Lifeguard shortage forces Rock Hill to keep 4 city pools closed

ROCK HILL, S.C. — With the weather heating up, many are ready to get out to the pool for a chance to cool off -- but a shortage of lifeguards is postponing those plans.

The city of Rock Hill is among the latest to announce that its pools won’t open on time.

Memorial Day kicked off the unofficial start of summer, with pools and water parks opening for the season. But it turns out, not everyone is ready.

The Oakwood Acres Park pool is one of four Rock Hill city pools that will stay closed because they can’t hire enough lifeguards.

Northside Recreation Center, Emmett Scott Center and the Boyd Hill Recreation Center will also stay closed until further notice.

The city of Rock Hill contracts with Trident Pool Group, and they said that despite their best efforts, they haven’t been able to hire and train enough people to staff the pools safely.

A lifeguard shortage has been an issue across the Carolinas, but Mecklenburg County is making progress as it tries to fill 161 open positions.

The county has had to cut hours at some of its pools or close them completely.

On Wednesday, the county provided an update, saying 38 lifeguard applicants had recently completed the swim test. The county said it hopes to open Ramsey Creek Beach on Lake Norman next month.

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Twelve lifeguards are in the hiring process, but they need at least 16 to open.

The county raised minimum pay for lifeguards to $15 an hour and added a sign-on bonus of $500.

Officials said they’ve seen a drop in interest in becoming a lifeguard over the last few years but the pandemic made it much worse.

(WATCH: Mecklenburg County short hundreds of lifeguards ahead of start to summer)

Mecklenburg County short hundreds of lifeguards ahead of start to summer

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