Lake Worth High School's pool, a community-funded fixture since 1961, is now closed indefinitely. The closure is due to health and safety concerns caused by invasive green iguanas and their droppings, not just the wear of time, as reported by the Palm Beach Post.

Efforts by the Palm Beach County School District and the Department of Health couldn't prevent the overwhelming presence of iguanas and their droppings from damaging the aging filtration system. This combination caused a decline in water quality, making the pool unsafe to use, as detailed by the Palm Beach Post. Despite the facility's historic value and emotional significance to the locals, the district has signaled the end of an era with no current plans to restore the community staple.

The closed pool is but a microcosm of a larger issue, facing an uphill battle with feral iguanas since a population boost that followed a particularly cold winter in 2010. According to WPTV, these creatures have left more than just a physical mark on the infrastructure; they have incurred hefty costs for the city in terms of prevention measures, power outages, and damage to other public utilities.

Reinaldo Diaz, a Lake Worth Beach Commissioner, has painted a rather grim picture highlighting the sprawling impact of the iguanas, asserting that they're here to stay and emphasizing an overarching priority to fortify city structures not only against storms but also the silent encroachment of these creatures, even recounting a $100,000 expense on iguana-proof infrastructure, as WPTV cited. 

As of now, Boca Raton Community High School holds the only district-owned swimming pool open to the public, though Lake Worth High School's athletic director, Frank Baxley, holds onto hopes of revitalizing the swim team if the pool and the iguana issues were to be rectified someday, according to WPTV.