Hugo Fernández is a resident of Matadepera who worked for several years with Lluís Martín, a reference in the municipality – now retired – doing swimming pool maintenance, until he created his own company, Pisicines Bonfer, an SME that manages the cleaning and maintenance of about 80 clients. 80% are in Matadepera and the rest in Terrassa, Sant Quirze del Vallès, Sant Cugat del Vallès and Barcelona, ??specifically in Pedralbes and Vallvidrera. In this last year of extreme drought, he already sensed that the lack of rain would complicate his profession. But he did not expect that it could affect him so much, neither him, nor his worker until a few months ago. Before the Generalitat decree and the municipal ordinance were published, he had a work routine. “The usual maintenance throughout the year consists of cleaning everything you find in the water, passing the brushes to the bottom, cleaning the filter and measuring the chemical parameters, especially leveling the pH and chlorine. In the summer, once a week, and in the winter, we go there every two weeks”. He clarifies that “swimming pools require maintenance all year round, which is why, nowadays, they are not emptied and filled, as was the case decades ago”. He remembers that decades ago, the “water was left green in the winter, then emptied, cleaned and refilled”. Sitting in front of a family pool in an urbanization in Matadepera, the technician clarifies that “the water in this pool is 10 years old. About 300 liters are lost for a filter wash, every 15 days, in a family with 4 or 5 members who enjoy it. If you divide these liters by days, the water loss is negligible. In a 15-minute individual shower, 240 liters are used”, he compares.
Now, with the drought and ever-changing rules, those in his profession are baffled. “The regulations dictate that we cannot add water to the pool. We must always count on the usual loss due to evaporation when it’s hot and due to filter maintenance. Then, if the level drops and is not renewed, the water will become bad and green, mosquitoes will breed there and, unfortunately, the cure will be worse than the disease”. It raises precise questions: “And where is this water going to end up?” It will end up being lost, and then it will be a disaster for everyone.” “Emptying the swimming pools would be a big mistake and not allowing them to be filled would also be a mistake,” laments Fernández, in the midst of a stressful work situation. Is your job at risk? “At the beginning of the drought crisis, I was calm, because swimming pools have not been banned anywhere in the world. But now, with the passage of time and so much uncertainty and without clear rules, I do suffer. One way or another, the drought affects the profession. But no longer just for me and my partner, but for all the workers who work in this sector”. This expert recognizes that there are “small family businesses that have been building swimming pools for years. Then there are those who make equipment for swimming pools… What will happen to them? Do we stop building swimming pools? More than one will have to close because good management is not being done. We have more questions than answers, right now. Every two years Barcelona hosts the Piscina fair
He defends that it is possible to have a swimming pool in a sustainable way. He recommends saline electrolysis, a system that uses 5-6 grams of salt per liter, which produces chlorination through this electrolysis. And in terms of energy savings, he points out that “there are engines that consume five times less than the ones we have used in the last 30 years. Because when talking about the climate crisis, it is also worth reflecting on the use of energy, not just water. There is a lot of evolution and improvements in the sector”. At the same time, he exemplifies that to reduce the evaporation of water when the heat increases, “you can put a thermal blanket, which is like a motorized blind and preserves the temperature of the water well. From our experience, in the summer – without rain -, the water level drops about three centimeters a week, between washing filters, people bathing and evaporation. In a 6 x 3 meter pool like this – referring to the one in the image – around 540 liters would evaporate a week, out of around 30,000 litres.
Hugo is fully aware of the debate that exists with swimming pools, whether they are considered climate shelters, how to manage water… He offers precise and well-reasoned thinking. “When alternatives are being talked about these days, there are those who say: ‘Ah, so let’s fill it with sea water’. Watch out! Two years ago, filling a tanker truck with seawater cost 400 euros. If they take it to you now, it has risen to around 2,000”. “In addition – he warns – you have between 36 and 40 grams of salt per liter. What’s going on? You couldn’t throw it down the drain, so you’d have to hire a tanker again to take it away.” In the case of a chlorinated freshwater pool, in which a customer wanted to put seawater, “he would have to change the filtration system of his pool. If not, the pump would suffer a lot and the joints would also deteriorate.” And he continues with more arguments: “If we are in this drought and the goal is to use less water, when you get out of the pool with sea water, what will you do? Take a shower! In the end, if five people take a bath, you will need five showers to avoid getting sticky, like when you come out of the sea. If you have a pool it is to enjoy it and be at ease. This seawater alternative is not an effective solution”, he concludes.
HUGO FERNÁNDEZ
Maintenance of swimming pools
