WASHINGTON - Officials with Montgomery County (web | news) Department of Recreation say some swimming pools will be closed or partly open for the Memorial Day weekend.

They say the delay is because the department has yet to receive new custom grating and drains. Federal law requires that pools have anti-entrapment drain covers.

Officials say the main pool at Bethesda Outdoor Pool will be closed, but the lap, baby and teaching pools remain open. Germantown Pool's main and children's pools will be open, but the leisure pool will not. The main pool will be open and the leisure pool will be closed at Wheaton/Glenmont Pool.

Officials say they are aiming to resolve the issue by next weekend.

"Our goal is to open all our pools on time, but the number one thing we want to do is we want to make sure they're safe," said Aquatics Program Manager Doug Fox.

Demonstrations show the suction of an unprotected drain is very powerful, and the Virginia Graeme Baker act passed in 2007 mandates the safety change before the opening of the 2009 pool season.

Pool manager Bridget Gallagher knows it will be a long weekend with some unhappy swimmers.

"We anticipate there's going to be a lot of upset parents. A lot of people who come here are children and they're not going to be able to use out child oriented pool," Gallagher said.

The new, safer covers will cost the county $80,000 and are on order and will be installed immediately when they arrive. Until then, some patrons are trying to be patient.

"It would be nothing short of stupid to open if it wasn't safe because some little kid could get injured," said Marvin Fooks, a swimmer.

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