The community enjoys the Robin Hills swimming pool which has recently been refilled and reopened although everything from cleaning the toilets to maintaining the equipment has to be taken care of by the local lifeguards although this is not in their job description.

Access to the public swimming pool is free, although the municipal facility is said to have a caretaker or manager, said Ward 99 councilwoman Nicole van Dyk.

In the bathrooms, one of the two faucets doesn’t work and one of the four toilet flushes doesn’t work. Toilet paper needs to be kept in the lifeguard’s office as it kept getting stolen in the bathrooms.

The filter room was also a haven for drug dealers and addicts during the winter before the lifeguards came in and cleaned the room before the pool reopened.

Now outside the water is clear in both the main pool and baby pool and parishioners make good use of it even on weekdays.

“We come to the pool almost every day and it’s great,” said Leigh-Toune Pheiffer, who swam with his family one afternoon.

“The water is clean and the lifeguards make us feel safe.”

For their part, lifeguards Alister Lee and Steven Thole said they love their job.

“I enjoy serving the community and giving a service,” Lee said.

Thole noted that he enjoys making people feel safe, but admitted that taking care of everything at the facility is sometimes difficult.

Van Dyk commended the lifeguards for doing everything they could after seeing the state of the facilities before the pool reopened.

City of Johannesburg spokesmen have been contacted regarding the swimming pool and asked questions.

This is an evolving story and your comments will be posted as they are made.

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