The community is enjoying Robin Hills Swimming Pool which was recently refilled and reopened, though everything from cleaning toilets to the maintenance of equipment has to be done by the local lifeguards though it is not in their job description.
Access to the public swimming pool is free of charge, though the municipal facility is supposed to have a caretaker or manager, said Ward 99 councillor Nicole van Dyk.
In the bathrooms, one of the two taps does not work, and one of the four toilets does not flush. Toilet paper has to be kept in the lifeguard’s office because when it was in the bathrooms people kept stealing it.
The filter room was also a haven for drug dealers and addicts during winter before the lifeguards came in and cleaned the room out ahead of the pool’s reopening.
Now outside, the water in both the main pool and baby pool is clear and community members make good use of them, even during weekdays.
“We’ve been coming to the pool just about every day and it is great,” said Leigh-Toune Pheiffer, who swam one afternoon with his family.
“The water is clean and the lifeguards make us feel safe.”
For their part, lifeguards Alister Lee and Steven Thole said they loved their job.
“I enjoy being allowed to serve the community and provide a service,” Lee said.
Thole commented he enjoyed making people feel safe but admitted it was sometimes difficult taking care of everything at the facility.
Van Dyk praised the lifeguards for going above and beyond, having seen what state the facilities were in before the pool reopened.
Spokespeople at the City of Joburg were contacted about the swimming pool and questions were sent to them.
This is a developing story and their comments will be published when they are made.
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