NASHUA – City swimming pools will not open this year due to safety concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.

Lauren Byers, public relations administrator with the city’s Division of Public Works said the city tried to figure out a way to open pools to members of the public this year and really held out before making the difficult decision, even as other communities already were making decisions not to open their pools. She said officials really wanted to make this work, but were unable to.

She explained that officials were unable to figure out a way to limit the number of people utilizing the pools, citing how a lot of the time kids will come and spend the entire day at the pools. Typically, during a normal year, hundreds of children utilize city pools in close contact with one another, and Byers noted how the pools already are situated in relatively small, fenced-in areas.

The decision includes the city’s three full-size public swimming pools, the two wading pools and the one splash.