Cape Town: The 31 community facilities will now revert to normal weekend operations until the next school holidays. Following a very busy festive season the city saw 36 swimming pools out of 37 that were open to the public.
Reportedly, there were no drownings at city pools over the peak operations period. The community swimming pools were opened daily for the peak festive season. Now the academic year is underway, and most people have returned to work, these facilities will cease daily operations on Sunday, Jan 18, 2026.
These swimming pools will be closed during the weekdays from Monday, Jan 19, 2026 until March 22, 2026 and will be operated only on weekends. On Fridays, the pools will open at 2:00 p.m. and will close at 6:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, the pools will remain open from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
From March 23, 2026 to April 06, 2026, the community swimming pools will operate on a daily basis again for the school holidays and pools will close for the season on Tuesday, April 07, 2026.
The group bookings wish to use the pools during the week can still be accommodated, subjected to the approval by the relevant managers. Lifeguards will be allocated once such approval has been granted.
As per the sources, three indoor pools such as Blue Downs, Long Street and Strand as well as Sea Point will continue to open daily. The fourth indoor pool at Retreat is temporarily closed for repairs to its filtration system. The facility is expected to reopen by Jan 23, 2026.
The highest number of the visitors was recorded on Dec 28, 2025 at Sea Point considering a single municipal pool. There 3,101 patrons entered the facility throughout the course of the day. This total number included over 700 pensioners. Sea Point also recorded the highest number of adult visitors to a single facility on Dec 26, 2025 at 1500.
Furthermore, Khayelitsha Swimming Pool recorded the highest number of children entering a municipal swimming pool on a single day this season, with just 1600 three to 16-year-olds to visited on Dec 29, 2025.
Member of the Mayoral Committee for Community Services and Health – Councillor Francine Higham said that she wants to commend the lifeguards and support staff for the enormous effort they have put to ensure the bathing areas that remained safer swimming zones this season.
There were no fatal or non-fatal drownings recorded at municipal swimming pools, which was remarkable feat, and considered just how popular these facilities were with patrons and enjoyed a day out.
However, the season was not without challenges. Theft and vandalism of City infrastructure is an ongoing problem. The problem is not just at the swimming pools, but some instances were also recorded of people illegally accessing the facilities and trespassing after hours.
According to Francine Higham, this creates a risk to their own safety and also potential infrastructure damage. The swimming pools are community assets and they all have a duty to respect and protect them.