Nearly 95% of pools, hot tubs and spray pads in Louisville failed at least one city inspection in the past year, according to data obtained and analyzed by the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting.
The data details Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness inspections at 515 recreational water facilities across the city since June 1, 2024.
At 141 facilities, city inspectors found an “imminent health hazard,” such as a lack of required lifeguards, bad water quality or broken disinfection equipment. Some locations repeatedly had problems documented.
Inspectors conduct two full inspections annually and follow-up reviews if needed, plus routine water monitoring year-round, including taking weekly samples and testing them for bacteria, said Ciara Warren, the health department’s environmental health manager of public facilities. The only pools the city doesn’t check belong to single-family homes.
“The inspection report itself is quite complex, and a swimming pool can fail its inspection for a long list of reasons,” Warren said.
KyCIR mapped the results of recent pool inspections across Jefferson County. Use the search tool to locate individual facilities and see if Metro staff found health hazards.
Through the inspections, city officials aim to minimize two big dangers to people: Drowning and unhealthy water.
To protect against drowning, inspectors ensure pools are securely fenced and required lifeguards are on duty, among other things.
For water quality, staff examine disinfection and filtration equipment and conduct regular testing for bacteria and water chemistry levels.
“Not enough chlorine in the pool is, you know, your No. 1 issue,” Warren said. “That's how you're going to generate and grow bacteria in the pool. Your swimmers can get sick.”
Warren said any inspection score below 86 counts as a failure. A pool can score above that threshold and still fail, though, if it didn’t meet one of several critical requirements under state and local regulations.
“So you can have almost everything perfect except maybe, you know, your chlorine was just a little too high, and then you fail,” she said.
Failing an inspection doesn’t necessarily mean the city will order a pool to close. But missing the mark on certain criteria will result in an immediate shutdown until the problem is resolved, she said. Some fixes can be finished quickly, that same day.
“The inspection score itself is kind of telling,” she said. “If you see somebody that's consistently getting kind of low inspection scores, maybe that raises a red flag.”
