Swimming Pools and Hygiene Laws

[Loopy Lou]

I've just read an article on this subject in September's issue of [i]The Connection [/i] given to me free at the property show at Olympia. It is rather worrying and I wondered what you gite owners thought.  The law in question is Decret No 81-324 du 7 Avril 1981  (www.secourisme.info/textof/txt.php3).  According to the author of the article the DDASS can then use that to apply L.1332-1 to L.1332-4 of the Code de la sante publique.  (www.moteur-auracom.com/cgi-bin/aur-web.exe/csante/voir).

Effectively, if you own a swimming pool that is "autres que celles reservees a l'usage personnel d'une famille" (i.e. for use of more than one family or for succession of families as in rented accommodation) it renders your pool "public" and you may well be subject to this law.

To comply with this law would appear to make pool ownership prohibitively expensive not to mention the technical difficulties of complying with the stringent hygiene laws.

I suppose that it all boils down to how strict your local DDASS is with regard to so called "public" swimming pools.

What do you think?

Loopy

[Poolguy]

Loopy

That is correct.

In my travels I have encountered a number of pools which hae been vivited by DDASS and condemned for an incorrect chemical balance or sanitisation system.

In the main I can tell you that there are next to no systems save direct chlorine injection which will cut it with DDASS. If you have a Salinator then it will need to be over specified and in perfect working order to qualify for approval. None of the other systems comply, including Brominators, UV, oxygen active or reed beds. If you have these systems then you will be told to add chlorine or pump the pool.

Along with the laws for security, we are expecting the DDASS to get very tough in the coming years as swimming pools are now in the public focus, and the DDASS take their job very seriously.

If anyone need clarification of how their system will measure up then PM me with your specification.

Andrew