Late spring rains put a damper on outdoor activities, but community members looking to beat the newfound heat are heading out to the Webster City Municipal Pool.

Recreation and public grounds director Kent Harfst said the pool has had a year to date attendance of 1,618 people. Last Tuesday, with a high of 94 degrees, was the busiest day for the pool so far with 364 people in attendance.

The water slide, installed last year at the pool, has been ridden 7,403 times this year.

While attendance has been increasing along with the temperature, Harfst said that attendance numbers are not the only metric that he uses to see how well the pool is doing.

“Our main focus and goal is the safety of all swimmers and staff at the pool,” Harfst said. “We’ve had a safe summer so far. We like kids to have fun there, but safety is our number one concern.”

New at the pool this year are new lounge chairs. Harfst said the city council approved the purchase of about 30 lounge chairs for the pool in last year’s budget.

“They’re very nice, and they look like something you might see at a motel or private pool,” Harfst said.

The Municipal Pool’s schedule revolves around the school year. It will close on Aug. 19, the day before school begins again. Harfst said it’s a fairly short season, and stormy weather earlier this month gave pool officials trouble with the water temperature. Harfst said the goal with the water heater is to keep the pool at about 80 degrees, but cool nights around 50 degrees kept the pool from reaching that goal for some time. Now, the pool is at a comfortable 80 degrees.

“The water is starting to feel nice and it’s a great time to come down,” Harfst said.

The pool is open every day from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. for adult lap swim, and is open to the general public from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.