Pack your swimming trunks … and then head out into the cool outdoor pool! The Berliner Bäderbetriebe (BBB) presented their opening plans for the summer season on Monday. After the Wannsee lido, four outdoor pools will follow on Saturday, the rest in the next few weeks. But: in many places it is getting colder in the basin than before.
The pool operators lower the water temperature by two degrees in outdoor pools heated with fossil fuels and by one degree in indoor pools.
Reason for the lower temperatures: The War in Ukraine. “This is a contribution that we are making to enable energy savings,” says pool manager Dr. John Kleinsorg. “Customers will hardly notice,” he hopes.
The exact temperatures in the baths vary. In the indoor pools they are around 26 to 28 degrees, outside up to 26 degrees. Kleinsorg: “It’s very individual for the bathroom.” Children’s paddling and therapy pools are not affected by the reduction. The BBB boss expects energy savings of ten to 20 percent.
Together with Interior Senator Iris Spranger (60, SPD), he also presented the new pool contract with the state of Berlin yesterday. The biggest innovation: Instead of paying a lump sum, as before, the interior administration orders 146,000 water hours per year – i.e. hours in which the pools are open.
Also read: Berlin pool companies: outdoor pool season again without restrictions
For this, Berlin transfers 63.4 million euros to the state-owned company. In 2023 it will be 66 million euros.
New contract, but old problems: the pool companies put the renovation backlog at around 400 million euros. The largest project is the renovation of the wave pool at Spreewaldplatz (42 million euros).
Important to know: The baths open again without a time window, so the ticket prices rise again to the regular 5.50 euros (reduced 3.50 euros). A traffic light system should provide information about the current utilization.
