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Bad Soden / Melsungen (dpa / lhe) - clean pools, change water, maintain green areas - before outdoor pool guests can let the sun shine on their stomachs, the operators have to prepare the pools for weeks.
They are doing that again in Hesse, although no opening date has yet been set due to the corona pandemic - whether in Melsungen in the north or in Frankfurt.
"We prepare like when we open," said a spokesman for the Melsung forest swimming pool.
Everything is done so far that only the key has to be turned to let people in.
"The preparations are going well," said a spokesman for the Frankfurt baths.
"If the weather cooperates, we could start in mid-May".
100 employees have been taken out of short-time work to work in the Frankfurt indoor and outdoor swimming pools.
Most of them are currently in use to "winter out" the outdoor swimming pools, that is, to clean them, maintain the technology, mow lawns, cut hedges.
Even if the season is canceled, the work is necessary.
"Just shut down a bathroom is never good," said the spokesman.
Due to the sensitive technology and the water pipes, decommissioning would entail an “extremely high risk”.
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Looking back: In 2020, the outdoor pools were allowed to open due to the falling number of infections in mid-June with hygiene requirements and distance regulations. All bathing establishments have been closed to the public since November. There are exceptions for school and professional sports, among others.
Regarding the current situation, a spokeswoman for FreiBadSoden in the Main-Taunus district said: "Actually, we would be done now." Compared to the usual season, the operators are about two weeks behind schedule. This is due to the conversion of a pool heater, with which they took a little more time due to the current situation. That's why there is no water in the pool yet. "We still have to agree on the time of admission," said the spokeswoman. They expect the water to flow in at the end of April. It takes about five days to let in the 2.5 million liters of water through a fire hose, after which it takes a few days to heat.
Everything else has already been done.
Before a new season, the old water must be drained and the stainless steel tub cleaned with special cleaning agents.
After a season, the water stays in the bathroom over the winter, as an empty pool could rise or even burst due to the amount of groundwater, as the spokeswoman explained.
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For this reason, the new water will definitely be let in, even if there are no bathers in 2021.
However, without visitors, the pool could turn into stagnant water and tip over, thus reducing the water quality.
In this case, the operators would have to circulate the water with pumps, which consumes a lot of energy and causes high costs.
Some outdoor pool operators are worried about possible costs and the lack of predictability.
In Wiesbaden, the Opelbad would actually be in the final stages of preparations, but this year they are at a different point, as a spokesman announced.
"We follow the current incidences in order to be able to make short-term decisions and react."
In Darmstadt, the "wintering out" takes place as usual, but planning the season is currently very difficult, as a spokesman announced.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210424-99-333700 / 2
Hessian state government on swimming pools