ST. LOUIS — With many St. Louis area pools opening this Memorial Day weekend, residents may want to check pool policies before heading out since there are some new ones this summer.

What You Need To Know

  • St. Charles City is limiting the number of daily admission entries for non-St. Charles and St. Peters residents at Blanchette and Wapelhorst Aquatic Facilities beginning this summer. A limited number of nonresident tickets will be sold online per facility daily, according to the department’s website

  • Some St. Louis-area pools still need to fill lifeguard positions, including the city of St. Louis and  the city of Ballwin

  • Last year St. Louis County had many lifeguard positions to fill, causing two pools to be open limited days. This year, the county has contracted with Midwest Pool Management to manage and staff pools

St. Charles City is limiting the number of daily admission entries for non-St. Charles and St. Peters residents at Blanchette and Wapelhorst Aquatic Facilities beginning this summer.

Maralee Britton, director of St. Charles Parks and Recreation, said overcrowding has been an issue at both aquatic facilities since they reopened in 2018, “making it difficult for our residents to visit and enjoy our pools.”

The new admissions policy will allow more space at both aquatic facilities for residents.  

“It has always been the goal of the St. Charles Parks and Recreation Board to provide our residents with the utmost quality services and access to our aquatic facilities,” Britton said.

“We are focused on creating facilities that are accessible to our residents and equipped with enjoyable spaces for everyone.”

A limited number of nonresident tickets will be sold online per facility daily, according to the department’s website.

For residents going to Blanchette and Wapelhorst, they must present a Parks Passport Card or a St. Peters Privilege Card at the gate to receive the resident admission rate, according to the website.

Britton said both Blanchette and Wapelhorst Aquatic Facilities are fully staffed this year for lifeguards and slide attendants.

However, some St. Louis-area pools still need to fill lifeguard positions, including the city of St. Louis. Nick Dunne, the city’s public information officer, said there is adequate staff for the indoor and outdoor pools to open, but more lifeguards are needed for them to operate full-time.

The city has employed about 22 seasonal and full time lifeguards and is looking to fill 28 more positions, according to Dunne. Starting salary is $15.45 an hour, employees do not have to be a resident of St. Louis and free training is available through the American Red Cross.

Dunne added that the Fairgrounds Park outdoor pool is closed for repairs. You can find a list of all locations and time in St. Louis City here.

While the city of Ballwin plans to have both indoor and outdoor pools open this weekend, portions of the North Pointe Aquatic Center such as the lazy river, slides, leisure pools, may be closed at times throughout the summer due to lifeguard shortages.

Ballwin currently has between 40-50 seasonal and year-round lifeguards and needs 20-30 more to be fully staffed, according to Megan Freeman, marketing and communications specialist.

“Because we have such a features-specific outdoor at North Pointe, it requires 22 guards per shift in order to keep everything open, so there may be times where the leisure pool will be closed or the kiddie pool will be closed just to make sure our lifeguards can keep an eye on everybody there,” Freeman said.

She mentioned lifeguard training sessions will be held over the next couple of months, with some employees currently going through the training.

Starting lifeguard salary is $12 an hour with opportunities for overtime, according to Freeman.

“We’re just trying to recruit and get as many people as we can,” she said.

Last year St. Louis County had many lifeguard positions to fill, causing two pools to be open limited days. This year, the county has contracted with Midwest Pool Management to manage and staff pools.