Hialeah closes all public pools after state finds 34 violations at one water park

Hialeah is closing the city’s three remaining public pools after the Florida Department of Health shut down its newly reopened water park, where inspectors found dozens of health, safety and operational violations — including a pool with no chlorine, another with a pH level far above the state limit, broken safety equipment and a drain cover with missing screws that posed an entrapment risk.

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The state’s closure came a day after an 80-year-old man suffered a medical emergency in one of Bucky Dent Water Park’s pools and had to be rescued by a resident. The incident prompted two complaints to the Florida Department of Health, which then inspected the facility and ordered all three pools closed after finding violations and determining that the water park was operating without a valid state permit.

Effective immediately, McDonald Pool, Milander Pool and Babcock Pool will temporarily close, the city announced. Bucky Dent Water Park, which the state already ordered closed, will remain shut while the city conducts what it described as a comprehensive review of its aquatics facilities.

Hialeah operates seven public aquatic facilities: Babcock Pool, Bright Pool, Bucky Dent Water Park, McDonald Water Park, Milander Aquatic Center, Reid Pool and Walker Pool. But only three — McDonald, Milander and Babcock — were operating when the city announced the closures. Bucky Dent had already been shut down by the Health Department, meaning the city’s decision leaves all of its publicly operating pools closed.

The city said it is bringing in an independent health and safety expert to evaluate the pools and determine what corrective measures are needed. Mayor Bryan Calvo said the decision was made “out of an abundance of caution” after information raised additional questions about the city’s aquatics operations.

The announcement came a day after the Miami Herald reported that state health inspectors had documented 34 violations at Bucky Dent’s three pools following the facility’s reopening July 31 after a year of closure.

Read more: State closes Hialeah park pools after finding no chlorine, broken equipment, no permits

The violations covered water quality, safety equipment, filtration and circulation systems, maintenance and permitting. Inspectors found zero free chlorine in the Activity Pool and a pH level of 10, well above Florida’s maximum allowable level of 7.8. They also found low oxidation-reduction potential, inadequate water flow and low water levels.

Other violations included problems with pumps and filtration systems, including a leaking filter and a stuck flow meter. Inspectors determined that pump, filtration and recirculation equipment had been modified without the required prior approval. They also found a pool drain cover missing screws, creating an entrapment risk, as well as loose ladders, missing anti-slip covers, a missing required second life hook, broken gutter grates and deficiencies involving handrails and other pool components. The Activity Pool also had been resurfaced without notifying the Department of Health.

The state’s inspection reports also found that the pools were operating without valid permits required by the Department of Health.

The state’s findings prompted criticism from Miami-Dade Commissioner René García, whose district includes Hialeah, who questioned how the city allowed Bucky Dent to reopen without the required state permit and despite the safety violations identified by state inspectors.

“It is irresponsible for this administration to open this pool, or any facility, prior to ensuring that all health and safety regulations have been met, and all necessary permits obtained,” García said in a letter to Calvo and members of the city council “The residents of Hialeah deserve complete transparency regarding those findings.”

García told the Herald in a statement after the city announced the pool closures that it is the right thing to do.

“I am very pleased to see that the Hialeah City Administration took my recommendation seriously and is carrying out an inspection of all the pools in the city,” García wrote. He said the Department of Health’s findings reflected “serious administrative failures.”

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García said he hoped the city would reopen the pools only after correcting all violations and obtaining the necessary permits.

“If the administration needs additional funds to make the necessary improvements, as I have always done, I promise to advocate for those resources” Garcia said. “As long as they demonstrate that they can manage those funds responsibly and ensure the safety of our residents.”

García emphasized that the issue is a public health concern, not a matter of beautification of pools, and said the findings show that “the current administration has not taken the health and safety of Hialeah residents seriously.”

The city did not respond to the Herald’s questions before the initial story was published about why Bucky Dent had reopened without valid state permits or why the state inspectors found so many violations in a single park.

In its latest statement, however, the city attributed problems at the facilities to years of deferred maintenance and neglect, saying the current administration is now addressing them.

“As I told Commissioner René García this morning in a response to his letter, the condition of many of Hialeah’s aquatic and park facilities reflects years of deferred maintenance and neglect that this administration is now confronting head-on,” Calvo said. He said he had asked García to help find $5 million to renovate and modernize the facilities.

Records reviewed by the Herald show at least $2 million in budgeted, awarded or approved funding for specific aquatic projects and pool-related work since 2022, when Esteban Bovo was the mayor. The funding included projects at Bucky Dent and Milander, as well as an aquatic assessment covering the city’s public pools.

Calvo has been mayor for seven months, and he was a Hialeah council member from 2021-24 when he resigned his seat to run for Miami-Dade Tax Collector. During Calvo’s administration, another Hialeah pool facility was deemed unsatisfactory by the Florida Department of Health before Bucky Dent was shut down.

State records show that the Wave Pool at McDonald Park was rated unsatisfactory in May after inspectors found that equipment had been changed without the state’s approval. The violation did not result in the pool’s closure.

By contrast, state inspection records from 2025 and the first weeks of 2026, just days after Calvo took office in January, show the city’s pool facilities were consistently rated satisfactory. Bucky Dent’s last inspection before its reopening was Jan. 15, when the facility was listed as closed.

The city said it will review oversight responsibilities for its aquatics operations, emphasizing that the closures were an internal decision and were not ordered by an outside agency. The decision came after state records showed that a former city employee who left Hialeah in January was still listed as the city’s point of contact with the Florida Department of Health for its aquatic facilities.

The Herald sought additional comment from the mayor’s office beyond the statement provided to the media, but Calvo’s spokesperson said they would not be available until Tuesday night’s City Council meeting.

Despite the state’s closure and the city’s decision to temporarily shut down its other pools, Hialeah City Council members said they had not been briefed by the administration about the situation. Most of the council members learned about the closures and the state’s findings only after the Herald contacted them for comment.

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