Hialeah Mayor Bryan Calvo has ordered the immediate closure of all public pools across the city. The decision was announced on August 11, 2026, as a precautionary measure following a state health inspection that uncovered massive safety violations at a recently reopened water park.
🚫 Closed Facilities
All active public aquatic facilities in Hialeah are shut down until further notice:
- Bucky Dent Water Park
- McDonald Water Park / Pool
- Milander Aquatic Center
- Babcock Pool(Note: Bright Pool, Reid Pool, and Walker Pool have already been closed and inoperable for the last seven years due to long-term neglect).
⚠️ Why Are They Closed?
The city-wide shutdown was triggered after the Florida Department of Health forced the closure of the newly renovated Bucky Dent Water Park, which had just celebrated its grand reopening on July 31.
Following an incident where an 80-year-old man suffered a medical emergency and had to be rescued from the water, state inspectors evaluated the facility and discovered 34 health, safety, and operational violations. The critical findings included:
- Operating the facility completely without valid state permits.
- Severe chemical imbalances, including one pool with zero chlorine and another with dangerously high pH levels.
- Broken safety equipment, loose pool ladders, and missing anti-slip step covers.
- A drain cover with missing screws that posed a critical entrapment risk.