In 2020, more than a quarter of Dutch households with a garden had an above-ground or inflatable swimming pool, according to research by market research agency Motivaction. But doesn’t such a swimming pool cost a lot of water and energy, which we should use sparingly? Or is that okay?
The durability of a swimming pool depends on its lifespan, the amount of water that goes into it, how long you use the water and how much energy and chemicals you use to keep the pool clean. The price is also not unimportant.
above ground swimming pools
According to Albert van Engelenhoven of the company Mundo Recreatie, which sells garden swimming pools, fewer and fewer inflatable pools are being sold and more large ‘above-ground pools’ made of sturdy plastic with a metal frame. An inflatable pool is sometimes thrown away after just one season, but an above-ground pool can last five years or more. It is therefore more sustainable, but also more expensive. You can already have a large inflatable pool for under 100 euros. You can get an above-ground swimming pool of hard plastic of about 2 by 3 meters from roughly 120 euros, but for a large swimming pool of, for example, 7 by 4 meters you can lose 1,000 to 1,500 euros. By the way, now, in the middle of the summer, manufacturers often give substantial discounts on their swimming pools.
Swimming pools are always filled with tap water. In small pools easily 3,000 liters goes, in larger pools sometimes more than 30 thousand liters. So a lot of drinking water is lost. That is why drinking water company Vitens already sounded the alarm in 2020. In that hot summer there was a shortage of drinking water. Reducing the water pressure in the pipes was then the only way to get water out of everyone’s taps. According to Vitens, the large number of above-ground swimming pools was an important reason for this water shortage. Whether a swimming pool lasts one or five years makes no difference to the water consumption, because an above-ground swimming pool has to be drained and demolished after every summer. The pool can leak due to frost and companies no longer give a guarantee if the pool has been outside at temperatures below 5 degrees.
The more intensively your pool is used, the greater the chance of water quality problems. Due to skin flakes, sweat, urine, but also dirt that is blown in, bacteria, fungi or algae can develop in the water, resulting in slippery walls or green water. As a result, people sometimes empty their swimming pool in the meantime and refill it, while with a clean swimming pool you only have to do this once a year.
Filter pumps
Filter pumps are indispensable for clean bathing water. There are pumps for all sizes of pools. The bathing water must be completely filtered at least once a day: this usually means running the pump for at least three hours a day. But if there are many children playing in the pool, you will have to filter longer. Such a filter pump costs energy. How much depends on how often you use the pump and the size of your pool. A small pump consumes about 45 Watts. If you run that pump for three hours a day, it will cost you only about 12 euro cents per day, even at current energy prices. Even for large pumps you will not exceed 50 euro cents.
Despite the filter, your swimming water can still turn green due to algae. There are all kinds of disinfectants for this that counteract the growth of such micro-organisms. These products are based on chlorine, which is not the most environmentally friendly substance out there. Alternatives such as salt electrolysis sound sustainable, but such a system separates salt (sodium chloride) back into sodium and chloride: chlorine! Since chlorine is toxic to plants and the environment, emptying a swimming pool also creates environmental problems. You can not drain the pool in the garden: do it through a well in the sewer.
You can make a swimming pool more sustainable. Buy a modest size and install a good filter pump with reusable filter filling. Get started yourself with scoop nets, brushes, sponges and pool vacuums. And don’t worry too much about algae. Green water is not harmful or unhealthy. According to Ronald Kooren of RIVM, a lot depends on our own behaviour. ‘Make sure that as little dirt as possible ends up in the water. Use disinfectants only as directed. After use, cover your pool with a tarpaulin and rinse your feet before entering.’