SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - A City pool is now drained and shut down after vandals threw glass into it.
Parents who bring their kids to the Allied Gardens pool for swim lessons were notified on Monday of the closure.
"Honestly my reaction, I just kind of sat there dumbfounded, they called and said the classes were canceled, me being curious I asked why, they said vandalism. I said you have to be kidding. This is my neighborhood!" said Marie Veenstra, a mom of three.
She says two of her children attend lessons at the pool on Glenroy Street four days a week.
"It is super frustrating, not only as a mom who can't bring her kids to the pool, but thinking about the environment," said Veenstra.
The City says broken shards of glass can be impossible to see or retrieve without draining the pool. Broken glass found in and around the pool results in having to drain the pool completely, conduct a thorough cleaning of the pool bottom to retrieve remaining pieces of glass, refill the pool with water and necessary chemicals to ensure the pool is safe and then reopen the facility.
The City's safety protocol is consistent with the Model Aquatic Health Code.
Draining and refilling the more than 320,000-gallon pool will cost the City roughly $5,000 when factoring in personnel.
"We love our pool though, we wish this didn't happen, but we'll come back."
City officials say a police report has been filed, but there are no leads as to who threw glass in the pool.
