Less hot swimming pools: And yet, they swim!

The day before, Muriel (several interlocutors wished to remain anonymous) went to equip himself. However, there was no shortage of swimsuits, caps and sunglasses A sexagenarian, a keen swimmer. But he didn’t have a thermal suit that covered his arms and legs for training in cold water. She would never have thought of turning into a frog woman to swim in the outdoor pool at her marine center in Nogent-sur-Marne. But after 1^Eh In October, this Olympic-sized pool in the Val-de-Marne, which has not been heated since mid-May, requires a wetsuit. The first in France, which makes it possible to keep the equipment open and contain the explosion of energy costs. That morning, Muriel was among the first to dive in a wetsuit.

“The marine center, which consists of two 25-meter indoor pools and a 50-meter outdoor pool, accounts for approximately 50% of the city’s energy costs alone.Adrien Rudo, its director, reckons. However, along with the increase in the price of gas, the estimated budget allocated for the heating of municipal buildings in the summer has already doubled. In order to limit costs, we find ourselves looking for solutions. » At the same time, two indoor pools lowered the temperature by 1 degree. The rain dropped 3 degrees.

With rising prices per kilowatt hour, keeping water bodies open has become a daily challenge for the communities that manage them. Only 15% is held as a public service delegation. Highly energy-intensive, aging — half date back to 1977 — most of them heated by gas, the nation’s 4,135 public swimming pools have been hit hard by the energy crisis. Some pools had to be closed or were not filled with water, others are shortening the time interval or lowering the thermostat to soften the charge. It is assumed that one degree less represents a saving of about 7%.

The so-called “Scandinavian” pool, as this type of outdoor equipment is called, in Nogent-sur-Marne is now living up to its name. Normally kept at 26°C, its water is cooled to 18.5°C a week before All Saints’ Day. At the end of the session, at 3 kilometers per hour with fins, Muriel removes her new suit – 4 millimeters thick, which protects the water temperature up to 12°C – and set to dry on marine center bleach. He welcomes the new restriction with a kind heart. “Sometimes, when the weather was nice outside, the water was too warm, One who works part-time and freelances in real estate explains. We swim very well in a wetsuit. As a precaution, I just cut the sessions short so I don’t overexert myself »continues the jock in a leopard-print shirt, happy to laze around in the autumn sun for a few moments.