Bakersfield’s recreation and parks department says pool attendance jumped over the summer in part because of last year’s order to close the city’s spray parks because of the drought.

Diane Hoover directs the agency and says over 57,000 plunged into the city’s four pools in June, compared to just 50,000 in June 2014.

“We didn’t expect that it would jump that much, but we were pleasantly surprised that people came out to the pools,” she said.

Around 53,000 people went to the pools in July, compared to roughly 50,000 from the same time a year ago.

– Anthony Pollreisz