DENVER — As temperatures rise and families prepare to kick off summer with a splash, City of Denver health officials are ramping up efforts to ensure public pools are clean, safe, and properly licensed.
Public health investigators say pool inspections are in full swing ahead of Memorial Day weekend. From apartment complexes and condominiums to hotels and athletic centers, hundreds of pools across Denver are required to be licensed annually, and for good reason.
“We’re really looking for safety concerns for swimmers,” said Garrett Salgado, a public health investigator with the City and County of Denver. “Main drains, emergency phones, first aid kits. We test water chemistry to make sure disinfection levels and pH are within safe ranges.”
Water testing is no small matter. When chlorine levels are too low or pH is off balance, swimmers can be exposed to potentially harmful bacteria or disease.
Since 2023, the city has taken an aggressive approach to enforcement after many pool operators fell behind on renewals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have found more than 200 unlicensed swimming pools and worked with them to get licensed,” said Chuck Hickey with the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses. “Today, we have more than 450 licensed pools in the city, a 17% increase over last year.”
Hickey said all licensed pools are required to display their license publicly. If you don’t see one or suspect a pool isn’t following safety guidelines, you can call 311 or file a complaint with the city’s Consumer Protection Section.
“The license is in place to make sure the public is safe,” Hickey said. “Unfortunately, if a pool isn’t working toward compliance, they are subject to citations and fines of up to $999.”
If violations are found, pools can be shut down, especially when critical systems like emergency phones or main drains are out of order.
“We want everyone to be safe and not have to worry about the risk of getting sick,” Hickey said.
As families head out for a swim this weekend, officials say the most important item on your checklist should be making sure the pool is licensed and safe.
