--- title: Philadelphia Dumpster Pools: Mayor Cracks Down description: Philadelphia's mayor said that he wouldn't issue permits for block party dumpster pools, citing public health concerns. canonical: https://time.com/4441252/philadelphia-swimming-dumpster-mayor/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-05T19:09:30.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:35:10.772Z og:title: Please Stop Turning Dumpsters Into Swimming Pools, Philadelphia Mayor Says og:description: Dumpster diving has taken on a whole new meaning og:url: https://time.com/4441252/philadelphia-swimming-dumpster-mayor/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Please Stop Turning Dumpsters Into Swimming Pools, Philadelphia Mayor Says twitter:description: Dumpster diving has taken on a whole new meaning twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Please Stop Turning Dumpsters Into Swimming Pools, Philadelphia Mayor Says by [Alex Heigl / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Alex Heigl / People Contributor Aug 5, 2016 7:09 PM UTC by [Alex Heigl / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Alex Heigl / People Contributor Aug 5, 2016 7:09 PM UTC Philadelphia is a city where, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. They get going into dumpsters. Residents holding a block part on Cedar Street rented a dumpster, filled it with water from a fire hydrant and made a pool. Days later, the mayor’s office decided to wade into the fray, [releasing the following statement](http://billypenn.com/2016/08/03/the-city-of-philadelphia-is-cracking-down-on-dumpster-pools/). “In view of the City’s commitment to public health, safety and basic common sense, we will not issue permits for block party dumpster pools.” They cite a number of reasons for the ruling, like reduction of available water for fire-fighting purposes, possible danger to children from the hydrant and damage to the water main should the hydrant be shut off too quickly. Perhaps the most delightful part of the release is this: “We are not screwing around, Philly.” “You would think this decision would not require an explanation,” [agency spokeswoman Karen Guss told the Associated Press](http://bigstory.ap.org/45c5c28f3ba8447c905a4e24713fa6c5). Justyn Myers and Jake Long, the block party’s organizers, told Billy Penn that the city’s Department of Licenses and Inspections showed up the day before the block party and taped a business card on the dumpster that read, “Permits?” Myers and Long had better tread lightly. [Remember what this town did to HitchBOT](http://www.people.com/article/hitchbot-mourned-twitter). _This_ [_article_](http://www.people.com/article/philadelphia-residents-discouraged-swimming-dumpsters) _originally appeared on_ [_People.com_](http://people.com) Philadelphia Dumpster Pools: Mayor Cracks Down ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4441252/philadelphia-swimming-dumpster-mayor/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4441252/philadelphia-swimming-dumpster-mayor/"},"headline":"Please Stop Turning Dumpsters Into Swimming Pools, Philadelphia Mayor Says","datePublished":"2016-08-05T19:09:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:35:10.772Z","description":"Dumpster diving has taken on a whole new meaning","url":"https://time.com/4441252/philadelphia-swimming-dumpster-mayor/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Philadelphia","local"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alex Heigl / People"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4441252/philadelphia-swimming-dumpster-mayor/","name":"Please Stop Turning Dumpsters Into Swimming Pools, Philadelphia Mayor Says"}}]}] ```