The new French legislation for public swimming ponds
Dirk Esser is a specialist in biological water treatment. He plans large-scale plant-based sewage treatment plants, is president of the French Société d’Ingénierie Nature & Technique and the French swimming pond association. He is a member of the IOB board.
He was involved as an external expert in the legislation to be presented. Since April of this year, there has been a legal regulation for publicly accessible natural baths in France, after a processing time of more than 12 years. This regulation therefore applies not only to public swimming pools, but also to private swimming pools open to the public, including those in hotels, campsites, etc.
My lecture will not only describe in detail the main elements of this legislation, but will also try to explain how it came about, what the consequences are for the profession in France and possibly beyond, and how I think we should deal with them.
Since the new legislation does not specifically refer to natural bathing waters, but claims to close the legal gap between the EU Bathing Water Directive (DIRECTIVE 2006/7/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 15 February 2006) and conventional swimming pools, the water of which must be “disinfected and have a disinfectant effect” according to French law, and thus to apply to all “artificially created confined waters separated from surface water and groundwater”, it may serve as a model for a future European regulation.
So I think that my lecture is not only interesting for companies and people who work or want to work in France in the field of public natural pools, but should also be interesting for everyone who is interested in the future of public natural pools.