Pool attendance triples during Lexington’s heat advisory

Southland Aquatic Center in Lexington saw at least 900 people per day over the weekend

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – Lexington’s been under a heat advisory for the majority of the last week. A lot of people using this time to hit up community pools in an effort to beat the heat and humidity.

Lexington Parks and Recreation says Southland Aquatic Center is usually its busiest pool, seeing anywhere from 250-300 people per day. But, that number tripled during the heat advisory, Parks and Rec saying at least 900 people came to Southland on Friday and Saturday.

“Generally, weekends are pretty busy but with the heat index being what it is and a lot of the pools in surrounding counties being closed, our attendance has really been high,” says Amy Scaravilli, aquatics coordinator.

Scaravilli says her main priority during hot weather like this is to keep not only the patrons safe and cool but the lifeguards.

“Most of the lifeguards have umbrellas up, we try to encourage them to drink, we bring them water keep them hydrated. They do have the opportunity to hop in as they’re bumping from chair to chair,” she says.

The people at the pool? Happy for the lowered price to enter and chance to cool off.

“It’s great, it’s instant gratification. You’re just real hot and then you’re cool,” says Charles Johnston, enjoying an afternoon at the pool. “The further the summer gets, the warmer the water becomes so it’s not quite as much of a shock as when we first came here, it’s nice.”