Portland’s public pools are now requiring visitors to pass swim tests before they may plunge into the deep end.
The change, which went into effect June 20 when outdoor pools opened for the summer season, comes almost one year after a 12-year-old girl drowned in Northeast Portland’s Montavilla Pool.
The child’s death marked the city’s first swimming fatality at a city-run aquatic center in nearly four decades, and it prompted Portland officials to review safety procedures at city pools, said Mark Ross, a spokesperson for Portland Parks & Recreation.
Under the new policy, anyone wishing to swim in the deep end of a city pool will have to demonstrate their swimming skills each time they visit by swimming a full length of the pool without stopping. If they pass, they’ll wear a wristband indicating they may swim in every area of the pool. The rule applies only during “play swim” sessions — not during children’s lessons or “lap swim” sessions typically enjoyed by adults who are strong swimmers.
In the past, non-swimmers were able to go into the deep ends of pools while wearing life jackets; that will no longer be allowed, according to a notice on the city’s website.
It’s not clear whether Portland pools have ever before enforced swim tests — although they’re common elsewhere in the country. Ross, the Parks Bureau spokesperson, said that historical information wasn’t immediately available Tuesday.
Information on the Parks Bureau’s website says that “non-swimmers and those without a wristband will be asked to move to shallow areas.”
A 2022 analysis by The Oregonian/OregonLive showed that lifeguards at Portland’s public pools jumped into the water to rescue flailing swimmers more than 100 times per year, with most of those happening in the summer months.
City-operated pools impacted by the rule change are listed below:
- Creston Outdoor Pool — S.E. 44th Ave. and Powell Blvd.
- Grant Outdoor Pool — N.E. 33rd Ave. and US Grant Place
- Ida B. Wells Outdoor Pool — 1151 S.W. Vermont St.
- Montavilla Outdoor Pool – 8219 N.E. Glisan St. — Opens July 22
- Peninsula Outdoor Pool — 700 N. Rosa Parks Way
- Pier Outdoor Pool — Seneca Street and St. Johns Avenue — Closed for repairs
- Sellwood Outdoor Pool — 7951 S.E. Seventh Ave.
- East Portland Indoor Pool — 740 S.E. 106th Ave.
- Matt Dishman Indoor Pool — 77 N.E. Knott St.
- Mt. Scott Indoor Pool —5530 S.E. 72nd Ave. — Closed for renovation
- Southwest Indoor Pool — 6820 S.W. 45th Ave.
— Andrew Miller covers business news. Reach him at amiller@oregonian.com or 971-803-2954.