Sulphur Springs residents won't be able to enjoy Memorial Day weekend — or potentially any summer day — at the neighborhood public pool as it is closed indefinitely.
Damage around the pool prompted Tampa officials to inspect it. Once drained, underground spring water was found entering the pool, proving it unsafe to use.
See the city's ground-penetrating radar (GPR) report on the Sulphur Springs public pool grounds
Lawrence Hollyfield, the communications coordinator for the city's Parks and Recreation Department, said the decision to close the pool was not an easy one.
"We certainly understand from the passion and the use that it's a big issue that it's down,” Hollyfield said. “But it's not shut down lightly. The decision to close it down was a heavy one. But we have to make sure that it's a safe pool first, in order to get it reopened."
The city says it may need a new pool entirely, but that's still being determined.
According to the Parks and Recreation Department, over 25,000 people used the pool in 2023, the third-highest attendance out of all 12 Tampa public pools. Attendance last year was the second-highest for the pool since 2014. In 2015, it saw just shy of 26,000 visitors.
Sulphur Springs is one of seven public pools in Tampa that are open seasonally.
Sulphur Springs is an area that has long been neglected in the past, and losing the pool makes things harder for the community.
“It kind of echoes what's been happening over the years with Sulphur Springs,” said Charlie Adams, president of the Sulphur Springs Neighborhood Association.
According to Jacqueline Leeks, a fourth-generation Sulphur Springs resident, the area is a walking community, meaning most residents do not have the transportation needed to get their kids to school or the pool.
“For generations, it's in walking distance,” Leeks said. “How do our children get to pools that are beyond (that)?”
She said the city is offering community transportation to bring people to public pools in other areas.
Adams said the community has been talking to Tampa officials and is impressed by their response.
“Being that they actually went in to assess the damage and assess the issue," Adams said, "that says a lot about them taking the initiative to fix the problem.”
