Recently released guidance from the Pennsylvania Recreation and Park Society declared pools in the state are not to reopen until counties reach the green phase of Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s reopening plan.

Even then, the guidelines state that pools may open with “physical distancing measures in place,” and pools will be required to make procedural changes to better ensure the health and safety of swimmers and employees. These changes include allowing no more than 25 people in every active area of the grounds, installing informational signage about hygiene and safety and cleaning all bathrooms multiple times each day per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

Based on these instructions, Whitehall Township decided its three pools - Jefferson in Fullerton, Parkview in Hokendauqua and Cementon - will not open for the 2020 season.

Lehigh County is still in the red phase. According to a May 22 announcement from Wolf, Lehigh County is expected to be in the yellow phase by June 5. There is no word when it will move to green.

If Lehigh County makes it to green by the middle of August, that would leave only a few weeks for the pool season, made even more challenging with the fact that each pool would only be able to accept 25 people at a time.

It’s easy to think having any time at the pool this summer is better than none. But consider the challenge this poses to pool managers who have to procure and administer all the chemicals needed to operate a public pool, hire and train lifeguards and put up new health and safety signage.

All of this takes time and preparation before the pool is ready to open, but not knowing when or if that season will start makes it very hard for managers to figure out when they should start getting ready.

According to Mayor Michael Harakal Jr., managers of the Whitehall Township pools aren’t even certain they would be able to fully comply with the CDC guidelines on cleaning if it were to reach the green phase.

The CDC recommends routine cleaning of frequently touched surfaces, which in a pool house bathroom or locker room means just about everything.

Whitehall pools typically have cleaning staff come in overnight, but reopening in the green phase would require cleaning staff to come in multiple times per day to clean.

With all that in mind, Whitehall Township officials decided there would not be enough time to prepare for or hold a reasonable pool season this summer.