Chilly weather keeps pools quiet

Poolside is where Betty Menne and her five friends will be all this summer at Centennial Beach in Naperville.

But forget about getting into the water, especially on Saturday, the opening day for many area suburban pools.

"It's just too cold," said Menne. Indeed, the water temperature got only into the upper 50s.

"We stuck our toes in the water, but that's about it," Menne's friend, Pat Krebs, chimed in.

Pools throughout DuPage County saw only a trickle of the activity typical throughout the summer.

At Rice Pool and Water Park in Wheaton, only about 55 people passed through the doors by mid-afternoon on Saturday, said Wheaton Park District aquatics safety manager Wendy Russell. The nearby Northside Family Aquatic Center had only 15 people come in.

Compare that to the 1,500 patrons Russell said staff accommodated this time last year.

"We just got the few die-hards this year," Russell said. "There are a few high school graduations going on in town this weekend, but (the poor showing) is mostly due to the weather."

One hour into the opening of Sunset pool in Glen Ellyn, only two families had bothered to show up, said Ryan Comerford, the pool's front desk manager.

While a few more trickled in later in the afternoon, the pool's staff was anything but overwhelmed.

"It's been quiet," Comerford said. "Saturday's kind of a traveling day for the Memorial Day holiday, but we're expecting more tomorrow since it's supposed to be so much warmer."

In Carol Stream, the traditional start of the summer outdoor pool season was set back by at least two weeks thanks to leaks discovered at the park district's Coral Cove Water Park.

Park staff spent the afternoon informing patrons the pool's opening will be postponed until at least June 7.

And at the Sea Lion Aquatic Park in Lisle, pool manager Dan Sleezer said the 70 patrons at his park is only a fraction of the 600 typical on any given summer day.

"We've actually had a decent number of paying customers for the day," Sleezer said. "But it's definitely light."

Yet some kids did take advantage of the start of pool season despite the chilly temperatures.

Ten-year-old Jared Moss of Naperville spent the afternoon sliding down one of the slides at Centennial Beach 23 times by mid-afternoon.

"I had to clean the bathroom so my mom would take me here today," the grinning Naperville boy said shortly before bounding up the ladder for slide run No. 24.

At the other side of the pool, Jared's mom seemed more than content just watching from the sidelines.

"I'm not going in there," she said. "Nuh uh, it's too cold."