Portland’s public pools are now requiring visitors to pass swim tests before they may plunge into the deep end.

The change, which went into effect June 20 when outdoor pools opened for the summer season, comes almost one year after a 12-year-old girl drowned in Northeast Portland’s Montavilla Pool.

The child’s death marked the city’s first swimming fatality at a city-run aquatic center in nearly four decades.

Under the new policy, anyone wishing to swim in the deep end of a city pool will have to demonstrate their swimming skills each time they visit. If they pass, they’ll wear a wristband indicating they may swim in every area of the pool.

In the past, non-swimmers were able to go into the deep ends of pools while wearing life jackets; that will no longer be allowed, according to a notice on the city’s website.

A spokesperson for Portland Parks & Recreation, Mark Alejos — citing the demands of the ongoing heat wave — did not answer questions Monday about the new policy from The Oregonian/OregonLive, including whether Portland has enforced swim tests in the past.

Information on the Parks Bureau’s website, though, says that “non-swimmers and those without a wristband will be asked to move to shallow areas.”

A 2022 analysis by The Oregonian/OregonLive showed that lifeguards at Portland’s public pools jumped into the water to rescue flailing swimmers more than 100 times per year, with most of those happening in the summer months.

City-operate pools impacted by the rule change are listed below:

• Creston Outdoor Pool — S.E. 44th Ave. and Powell Blvd.
• Grant Outdoor Pool — N.E. 33rd Ave. and US Grant Place
• Ida B. Wells Outdoor Pool — 1151 S.W. Vermont St.
• Montavilla Outdoor Pool – 8219 N.E. Glisan St. — Opens July 22
• Peninsula Outdoor Pool — 700 N. Rosa Parks Way
• Pier Outdoor Pool — Seneca Street and St. Johns Avenue — Closed for repairs
• Sellwood Outdoor Pool — 7951 S.E. Seventh Ave.
• East Portland Indoor Pool — 740 S.E. 106th Ave.
• Matt Dishman Indoor Pool — 77 N.E. Knott St.
• Mt. Scott Indoor Pool —5530 S.E. 72nd Ave. — Closed for renovation
• Southwest Indoor Pool — 6820 S.W. 45th Ave.

— Andrew Miller covers business news. Reach him at amiller@oregonian.com or 971-803-2954.