“Does anyone think that after a workout or a class if people can’t shower in the gym they won’t shower at home? And those who can’t go, because they go straight to work, will resign”, warns Enric González, technical director of Duin gyms, with eight establishments in Catalonia and others in Santander, Madrid and Mallorca. The directors of gyms and sports centers fear the moment of the complete closure of the showers, something foreseen in the Drought Plan from level 2 for gyms with swimming pools and for all when the emergency reaches level 3.
Although the situation is now level 1 (restrictions on showers in gymnasiums with swimming pools), some councils have already taken measures, such as that of Girona, which closed all municipal swimming pools from January 22 and does not allow cleaning -se after training in sports equipment. The measure affects all ages and categories, both grassroots and elite sports. Esplugues de Llobregat also forced to close the showers on February 5: “This week we had 20 deaths in one day”, adds González. The Duin d’Esplugues has around 4,800 users.
“Things are getting very bad, a sector that was already heavily punished during the pandemic is being stigmatized and now these measures will have very direct economic consequences for gyms and clubs”, insists Gerard Esteva, president of the Union of Sports Federations of Catalonia (UFEC).
Concerned about the situation, the main representatives of the sector – very broad and with several active associations – met with the Minister for the Environment, David Mascort, on February 1. At the meeting, they presented the measures and investments that the centers have implemented or that may be implemented before they are forced to close the showers completely. “It was a tense meeting and it was agreed to call another one to propose concrete measures, but we are still waiting for them to give us a date”, adds Esteva.
“Each center must be able to decide how to save water. There are many possible formulas before they force us to close all the showers”, says Iolanda Latorre, manager of the Catalan Association of Physical Activity and Fitness (Adecaff). The sector assures that with the measures it proposes an additional saving of 25% can be achieved. Among these actions is the reduction of the time on the buttons of the showers and taps, as well as the pressure and temperature of the water. Adecaff also proposes to eliminate the double loading of toilet cisterns, install sensors, automate the cleaning processes of swimming pool filters, prohibit recreational use or reduce the number of showers during competition days so that athletes go faster and intensify awareness campaigns to save water in sports facilities.
All agree that closing the showers completely is a blow to business. Fran Esmorís, director of the O2 Center Wellness gym in Girona – with a 25-metre swimming pool and another smaller one, where guided activities take place -, explains that on February 1 they did without the spa and the two jacuzzis. Since they had to be emptied twice a week, the consumption was remarkable, “we achieved a saving of between 20 and 30%”, he says, although he acknowledges the loss of “some partners” due to the deletion of these two aquatic services.
In any case, O2 Center Wellnes de Girona has preferred to reduce water by closing the spa and jacuzzi before closing the 28 showers, in which the pressure and the time of the button have been reduced. “If there are no showers, we make it very difficult for early morning or midday users,” he maintains. The director asks the administration to help companies to invest in improvements for sustainable water consumption, rainwater collection or water reuse.
At Grup Esportiu i Gironí (GEiEG), a sports club with around 10,000 members between federated and amateur athletes, they have chosen to close half of the showers. Of those that are still operational, in half the pressure and time of the button has been reduced, which means a saving of between 5 and 8 liters per minute. “The member is aware”, explains the president of the entity Francesc Cayuela, who is also concerned about the scenario that forces the closing of all the showers. “We hope that there will be no escape of members”.
