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Webber, Lupient pools open in Minneapolis; North Commons undergoing repair

The North Commons Water Park won't open until July because of underground pipe repairs.

May 30, 2019 at 12:24AM
Robert Brown, a water resource specialist for the Minneapolis Park Department, tested the water at Webber Park Pool, Thursday, July 5, 2018 in Minneapolis, MN. Webber Pool's natural filtration system can't seem to keep the bacteria out of the water. The pool has been closed for multiple stretches this summer. The pool opened two years late and way over budget in 2015. ] ELIZABETH FLORES ï liz.flores@startribune.com
Robert Brown, a water resource specialist for the Minneapolis Park Department, tested the water at Webber Park Pool in 2018. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

It's finally time to get back in the swim of things in Minneapolis' outdoor pools.

The city Park Board last weekend opened Jim Lupient Water Park in northeast Minneapolis and the Webber Natural Swimming Pool on the North Side, and the pools will be open again this weekend before shifting to full summer hours on June 8.

That's the same day lifeguards will begin working at city beaches, and outdoor pools in St. Paul will open.

Park officials are candid in their hopes of avoiding a repeat of last summer at the naturally filtrated (read: no chlorine) Webber pool.

"The water fowl were fouling the water," said board spokeswoman Robin Smothers.

An abundance of duck feces overwhelmed the system and contaminated the main pool, pushing levels of bacteria too high for public swimming.

Of 75 days that the Webber pool was scheduled to be open in 2018, it was shut down for 33 owing to bacteria levels, Smothers said. The previous summer, it was closed for fewer than 10 days.

Regular testing so far this year, however, has shown bacteria levels to be almost nonexistent, let alone dangerous.

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Park managers brought in a bunch of new tactics this year aimed at keeping ducks at bay, so much so that the pond has a circuslike appearance with streamers, little boats and lasers making it appear unwelcome. Because ducks like a stagnant surface for landing, fountains will be used to create ripples.

Then there are the human backups. Officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture are monitoring the holding pond for nests. They will remove them if discovered, Smothers said.

For the first time, a UV system will be aimed at the water to kill bacteria.

"We are feeling really positive about having a great summer at Webber," Smothers said. "So far, so good."

The four-year-old, $7 million Webber pool is popular when open, often hitting capacity. Unlike the other pools, entry is free.

North Commons Water Park, on the North Side, will be closed until mid-July for underground pipe repairs, according to Smothers.

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Season passes are available for Minneapolis pools. Daily admission to the Lupient and North Commons pools is $5 for those taller than 42 inches and $3 for those under that height. The Minneapolis pools have dedicated lap swim lanes during regular pool hours.

St. Paul's outdoor pools don't open until June 8. Entry fees are slightly higher, and St. Paul limits lap swimming to designated hours.

Rochelle Olson • 612-673-1747 Twitter: @rochelleolson

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Rochelle Olson

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Rochelle Olson is a reporter on the politics and government team.

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