After nearly 5 years of repairs, Pearl City public pool finally reopens

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The Pearl City District Park pool reopened for public use Thursday after being closed for nearly five years due to numerous improvements.

The 25-yard pool initially closed in 2018 for a list of repairs including the pool’s tiling, lane markers, pump room, drainage, concrete spalling, and plastering.

While repairing the pool, other issues were found that delayed the reopening, primarily with the pool’s electric bonding.

The reopening Thursday kicked off with a blessing by Kahu Brutus LaBenz and was followed by state and city officials speaking to the community. Among those at the opening, senators and young swimmers alike understand the importance of swimming in the community.

State Sen. Brandon Elefante, who attended the event and learned to swim at a local pool says, “most parents enroll their children in swimming lessons at an early age, but that’s not for all of them, and some may not have that opportunity.”

“And so having a pool reopen, like Pearl City district park, is really important for our community and for our future generations to really grasp the concepts of learning how to swim.”

Kaimana Toma, who learned to swim at Pearl City pool, said swimming is important to him because “it’s a sport that will help you survive one day or help someone else.”

Elefante encourages the community to take the classes provided by the pool.

”It’s free. There are classes, whether it’s for our keiki, or our kupuna, or even adults like myself that can come here during the summer,” Elefante said.

Pearl City District Park Pool is looking for more part-time lifeguard staff members to join the team and the city plans to inspect park pools in their entirety to avoid future closures.

The pool open hours are posted here.