Background and content: Recommendations for the planning, construction, maintenance of private swimming and natural pools, 2006

Swimming and natural pools are artificially created eco systems in which the water is purified either fully or in part through biological processes – in contrast to conventional pools.

Whereas conventional open-air swimming pools are generally designed by structural engineers and constructed by building construction firms or civil engineering companies, the planning, construction and maintenance of swimming and natural pools has increasingly become established as a domain of landscape architects and gardening and landscaping companies.

At present, more than 12 "natural pool systems" are available in Germany. Although some of their components have similarities, the way in which the natural pools work and their appearance are quite different. In addition, a large number of installations have been constructed which, despite not being tied to a particular "system", have still been built on the basis of a very solid understanding of the technical requirements and are in no way inferior to the "system pools", neither in terms of function nor in terms of form.

However, pools have started to crop up in recent years which have neither been built in accordance with the information provided by the system suppliers, nor have been built with sufficient understanding or expertise. The spread of this type of pool systems (built "on the cheap“) would no doubt in the long term endanger the emerging trend for building "natural swimming pools“ which seems set for success.

As the FLL recommendations for planning, construction, maintenance and operation of public swimming and natural pools which were already published in 2003 ("Empfehlungen für Planung, Bau, Instandhaltung und Betrieb von öffentlichen Schwimm- und Badeteichanlagen") only find limited application in the private sector, it was necessary for the Forschungsgesellschaft Landschaftsentwicklung Landschaftsbau e. V. (FLL) (research institute for landscape development and landscape building), an organisation which supplies bodies of rules for the "green" industry in Germany, to work together with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für naturnahe Badegewässer e. V. (DGfnB) (German society for semi-natural swimming waters) in order to draw up a special body of rules for private swimming and natural pools.

The technical equipment of the private swimming and natural pools which have been built so far varies depending on the size of the pool and the requirements of the owner.

This made it essential to classify the pools that had already been built or for which the planning was in progress, in order to then use this information as the basis for a set of requirements which would need to be complied with when swimming and natural pools are planned, constructed or maintained.

Details:

• Scope of Validity, Purpose, Definition of Terms, Legal and Normative Basics, Biology and chemistry (Limnological principles / Significance of biocenoses / Significance of the nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus / importance of hygiene / Importance of use intensity / Notes on the fill-up water)


• Water circulation, Types of natural pools, Planning, description of services (General information / Site criteria / Space requirementsEqupement elements / Descrition of services)


• Building requirements (General information / Excavation /Seperation of swimming area and regeneration area / Sealing / Swimming area / Regeneration area / Water circulation / Plants, planting work)


• Acceptance inspection, Claims due to defect, Maintenance (General information / Checks (inspection) / Care / Maintenance of the structural objects and technical installations / Repairs)


• List of references/bibliography, Appendix



Background and content: Recommendations for the Planning, Construction, Servicing and Operation of Public Swimming and Bathing Pond Facilities, 2003 

Swimming, bathing and cleaning oneself are historically closely interconnected activities of joint origins. Over the course of time, a bathing culture has developed from these activities, which, besides the factors of cleaning and cooling off as wells recreation, communication, playing and sports, has also been increasingly aiming at medical-therapeutic objectives during the last years.

With an increasing pollution of natural waters and the advanced knowledge of hygiene, water was treated ever progressively, usually based on the application of chemicals. This chemical treatment is often regarded problematic by visitors of swimming and bathing facilities especially in connection with allergic diseases, skin irritations, eye redness, etc.

As opposed to this, water treatment in swimming and bathing pond facilities is implemented biologically, according to the self-cleaning capability of natural waters. The underlying principle comprises biological, physical and chemical-physical processes. Therefore, the objective is not the production of sterile bathing water, but rather the establishment of an ecological system which eliminates the pollution introduced by bathers in a separate treatment area. As a matter of curse, the bathers health and safety are of mayor concern against this background.

Swimming and bathing pond facilities are consistently gaining importance, particularly for municipalities. For municipal outdoor swimming pools in need of sanitization, which are threatened by close-down due to the public financial situation, such facilities offer the possibility of functionality restoration, operation and preservation at reduced financial expenditures. However, special requirements are placed upon the planning, construction, servicing and operation of public swimming and bathing pond facilities. This necessitates technical knowledge and experience from various disciplines, particularly with regard to filtration, flow penetration technologies, biological decomposition processes in damp biotopes and human hygiene. To attain a certain standard for swimming and bathing pond facilities, the development of a specific rulebook for such facilities was indispensable. This is why the German Forschungsgesellschaft Landschaftsentwicklung Landschaftsbau e. V. (FLL) association established a rulebook committee consisting of an interdisciplinary team.

The respectively developed recommendations presented herein contain comprehensive specifications and notes on the objective aspects mentioned above and have been coordinated with other rulebooks on this subject matter especially with the Hygienic requirements for small bathing ponds (artificial swimming and bathing pond facilities) recommendations published by the German federal environmental agency.

Details:

• Scope of Validity, Definition of Terms, Legal and Normative Basics, Water Quality Requirements (General Information / Physical Parameters / Chemical Parameters / Biological Parameters / Hygienic-Microbiological Parameters)


• Planning Requirements (Site Criteria / Space Requirements / Infrastructure)


• Constructional-Technical Requirements (Utilization Area Dimensions, Flooring, Wall Formation, Shore/Basin Edge Formation, Entrances, Exits and Bridges, Diving Facilities, Hydraulics/Basin Flow Penetration / Treatment Area Biotechnical Procedures, Physical-Chemical Procedures, Planting)


• Acceptance, Claims of Defects, Servicing (Inspection / Maintenance / Caretaking)


• Operation and Control (Operability and Usage Safety / Water Quality Control / Documentation / Usage Safety Assurance and Supervision Obligation / Information of Bathers)