Centennial Beach preps for opening day

Centennial Beach has been Naperville's community swimming hole for more than 70 years, but it still has a few tricks up its sandy sleeve.

When the park district beach opens for the summer swimming season at 11 a.m. today at 500 W. Jackson Ave., it will feature a brand new waterslide that's about 10 feet tall and recommended for kids 7 and older.

"It should be perfect for that age group," beach manager Andrea Coates said.

Funds for the slide came from the April 2007 Bottom of the Beach Ball, in which visitors were invited to spend time on the floor of the giant swimming hole to celebrate its 75th anniversary -- before it was filled with water.

Slide or no slide, Coates says the beach will continue to attract significant crowds because it's unique to the area.

In addition to the sand beach, the pool itself, which is built in an old quarry, holds 6.2 million gallons of water.

That's the good news for today's opening. The not-so-good news: It takes a while to get 6.2 million gallons of water warm enough to be comfortable for swimming. And given our unseasonably cold spring, the water might be a tad chilly today, Coates said.

Nancy Thompson, marketing assistant, says officials expect about 150,000 people to visit the beach and adjacent picnic grounds and play areas during the season that runs through Sept. 1.

A goodly portion of those people are likely to check out the new slide, which is why two lifeguards will be assigned to keep an eye on it at all times, lifeguard Sam Schild said.

The beach employs 20 lifeguards each day, with 14 watching the water at all times.

Being a lifeguard is always a challenging job, said lifeguard Nathan Piette, but it's especially so at Centennial Beach.

"We have to be way more proactive," he said. "At a normal pool, you can see the bottom, but here you can't."

Over the past few weeks, lifeguards and others have been doing a lot of work to get the beach ready for today's opening, lifeguard Lucy Tiffin said.

Crews have repainted lines, set up chairs and poles and, of course, trained the new staff of lifeguards.

Tiffin also is excited about a new Web site feature that will let people know the temperature of the water before they venture to the beach.

If you go

What: Centennial Beach opens

When: 11 a.m. today

Info: www.napervilleparks.org