Leadville's only publicly-accessible pool may have to shut its doors for good due to financial struggles, but Leadville residents are rallying support to help it stay afloat.The small pool inside a small swimming studio in small town Leadville holds a big meaning to some town residents.Since the Lake County Aquatic Center officially closed in 2021, this studio was the only pool for miles. WATCH: Leadville's only publicly accessible pool could close in the next few months, Denver7's Alex Dowd reports Rally to keep Leadville business afloatSwim Squared owners Eric and Bethany Godsman taught 150 kids to swim in that pool, which is about 5% of the city's population.That was a mission Bethany said was crucial for her husband, a life-long swimmer."He has been a swim coach and swim team coach for almost his entire career," she said. "It was important to him and myself to offer that because drowning and other things are such a huge issue in this area."In the past five years, 129 people have drowned in Colorado, according to a Total Aquatic Training and Education Institute report.Co-leader of the Lake County Water Safety Task Force and Executive Director of the National Drowning Prevention Alliance Alissa Magrum is concerned that number could go up if fewer kids learn how to swim."This little space is the only place where people can learn to swim," she said. "Selfishly, I want to be able to swim here. But really, the biggest reason is in water safety and drowning prevention. Knowing how to swim and having basic water competency is a layer of protection against drowning."Magrum created a GoFundMe page for Swim Squared after hearing the business may only have a few months left. Godsman estimated they could make it to September before being unable to pay the business's rent."We have already had some people that have quit [membership] because of the [Willow] fire," Godsman said. "They were here to do cross training for triathlons and other things like that. So we've lost that niche group. I think everybody around has kind of cut what we can here."In addition to drowning safety, the pool is also a place for Leadville residents like Magrum to get their swimming fix, do aquatherapy, have birthday parties or just take a dip."We poured our heart and soul into this place because it was something that we wanted to do for the community," Godsman said. "It's really hard for me the idea of closing because the people that we do have constantly are saying we're so glad you're here."Within two days, Magrum's GoFundMe had $1,000 donated, but she says they'll need $20,000 to stay operational for a few more months. ...read more read less