Summer splash
RUBY VALLEY PUBLIC POOL OPENS
Sheridan’s Ruby Valley Swimming Pool will open on June 13.
The public swimming pool will have some new rules to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. But it will operate as usual in many ways, offering classes and a swimming hole for the community. The classes will be smaller, and lifeguards will have more cleaning in their daily job rotations.
“We’re ready, we’ve done our part,” Ruby Valley Swimming Club member Mary Pat Graham said. “It’s up to the public to do what they want.”
The Ruby Valley Swimming Club worked with the Madison County Sanitarian Office to implement recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Individuals will be responsible for following the CDC recommendation of avoiding the public pool if they are feeling sick.
In September, the pool installed a new water filter, which will improve the consistency of appropriate chorine concentration and pH levels. The CDC recommends controlling the pH level between 7.2 and 7.8, and free chlorine concentration of at least one pound per million pounds of water.
Madison County’s sole public poll will be tested multiple times a day to ensure water quality, according to Graham. Three lifeguards will be on duty at all times, rotating job duties every hour. One rotation includes sanitizing the showers, counters, locker rooms and bathrooms. Hand sanitizer will be available for incoming swimmers to use before entering the fenced in area.
Seven high-school-aged locals have been certificated to lifeguard at the Ruby Valley Swimming Pool. They have been instructed on proper sanitization practices, according to Graham.
The Ruby Valley Swimming Pool kicks off its season with a free barbeque Friday, June 12 at 5:30 p.m. Open swim time starts Saturday. The pool will be open to the public every summer weekday from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. and weekends from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Water aerobics classes are offered Monday through Friday at 6:30 a.m. and noon. Sign-ups for swimming lessons began June 8.