Humans and their canine companions looking for some splash time can find their water in Longmont starting next week.
The city will reopen the Union Reservoir dog beach and expand the swim beach capacity starting Monday. The dog beach has been closed since May.
Capacity at the swim beach, which reopened on July 6 with a 50-person maximum, will now be 75.
Dogs are only allowed to be off-leash in the designated area on the south side of the reservoir; they must be leashed in all other areas of the park, according to the city, which announced the reopening in a Thursday afternoon news release.
The dog beach and off-leash area is limited to those with dogs in tow, and people and their pups are asked to limit their visits to 45 minutes.
The number of canines allowed at the dog beach will be capped at 25. If the beach is at capacity, dog owners are asked to wait until someone leaves before entering.
The same wait-until-there’s-room approach applies to the swim beach, and when the 75-person capacity has been reached people are asked not to enter until someone leaves. The beach has been fenced to maintain the maximum and staff will be stationed at the entrance to monitor numbers, according to the city.
The swim beach, which is staffed by lifeguards, is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.
General guidelines for off-leash area/dog beach and swim beach outlined in the news release include:
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Stay home if you are experiencing symptoms associated with the novel coronavirus, have been in contact with someone with COVID-19 within the past 14 days, or are in a vulnerable population (older adults and those with underlying health conditions).
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Maintain 6-feet social distance from people not from the same household both in and out of the water.
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Wear face coverings into and out of the reservoir and any time social distancing cannot be maintained. Face coverings are not required while swimming.
The city also advised the reservoir can reach capacity between 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekends, and the wait to enter the park can be up to two hours. Learn more at bit.ly/union-reservoir-longmont.
The full list of recreation and swim area COVID-19 guidelines and FAQs can be found at bit.ly/recreationcovidguide.
For questions, call the Union Reservoir ranger station at 303-772-1265.
