Denver city pool that was leaking more than 16,000 gallons of water per day to be replaced

Community members in northwest Denver who were hoping to swim at the city's Aztlan Pool over the weekend were met with a sign at the door stating it is closed indefinitely.

The empty pool is typically the summer spot for kids in the Sunnyside neighborhood to hang out. 

"There's a lot of kids in the neighborhood that enjoy the pool, and even people outside of the neighborhood come to this pool," said Donald Garcia.

Garcia's daughter Cecilia is one of those children, and she was disappointed that she couldn't go on the slide.

Denver Parks and Rec says the pool has structural issues which prevents it from operating safely.

Preston, a young boy, also lives in the neighborhood and uses the pool every summer.

"It's closed, and we don't need to drive everywhere," he said.

"He loves to play in the water," said Preston's dad, Phillip Martinez. "I know as long as they can bring him over here, he'll love it."

Although there are other pools in other neighborhoods, not everyone is able to access them. 

"A lot of us ain't fortunate to have vehicles, so we got to commute through the bus system, and but again, that's, I guess you could say that's part of life," said Garcia.

The pool was losing more than 16,000 gallons of water each day. A leak was discovered during preseason maintenance, but a new pool has already been in the works.

"Hopefully a whole new, nice, bigger pool," said Garcia.

Last year, Denver voters approved the Vibrant Denver Bond to improve the city's infrastructure and community spaces. $15 million to build a new pool was already secured within the project.

"I want it to get bigger," said Preston.

The community is already looking forward to its reopening.

"50 more times better," Preston added.

Denver Parks and Rec did not respond to questions from CBS Colorado regarding the project and a potential timeline for when it will be completed. However, members of the community can sign up to receive updates.