KITCHENER -- Homeowners with backyard pools are looking to make a splash while they're stuck at home.

Many families have opened their pools earlier this season—some, fearing the service would be unavailable to them as COVID-19 restrictions tightened, expedited the process this year.

"With the given situation and things changing all the time, I wasn't sure what would happen to the pool industry," explains Lori Chen.

"Would they have to close completely and not be able to open the pool? The thought of not having use of my pool for the summer given the money we put into it was just not an option."

Chen is not alone, or the most extreme case.

Beechmount Pools owner Ryan Cartmell says hundreds of people are opening their pools early this year.

"I don't open pools in March, but this year we did a considerable amount," he says.

Cartmell estimates he had about five times more pool openings booked through the end of March and the start of April compared to usual.

Typically May is his busiest time to open pools, but this year people have been in a hurry to open their backyard sanctuaries amid the pandemic.

For Chen, that means that, heat or not, she's making use of her backyard.

"Even 18, 15 degree weather, we're out in the pool," Chen says.

Since she won't be able to go away for the foreseeable future, she says she'll be vacationing in her backyard this year.