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Bad Schwalbach in Hesse: outdoor pool gives away water

2022-09-15T16:04:08.978Z


It is not just agriculture that is suffering from the drought. A lifeguard from Bad Schwalbach wanted to help and donated outdoor pool water. A conversation about the meaning - and why a grave was poured.


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Outdoor swimming pool in Bad Schwalbach: water for the woman's grave

Photo: Jörg Halisch / dpa

An outdoor pool in Hesse is giving away its water after the end of the bathing season: This unusual campaign caused a stir at the beginning of the week.

Swimming champion Richard van Rijn wanted to help farmers in the summer drought.

It was said that 800,000 liters could be distributed, and the fire brigade helped with the pumping.

Now the action ends - and Van Rijn takes stock.

A call to Bad Schwalbach.

SPIEGEL:

Mr. van Rijn, to what extent can the water from the swimming pool be used for agricultural purposes at all?

Van Rijn:

We already shut down the chlorine gas plant at the beginning of September and filtered the water several times.

Each filter backwash process adds around 30 cubic meters of fresh water, which means that the water is very diluted and the remaining chemicals are flushed out.

SPIEGEL:

Wouldn't it have been easier to put the water in the sewage system and have it filtered there?

Van Rijn:

When the water goes to the sewage treatment plant, it becomes a waste product and has to go through all the chemical processes there.

I see no point in that.

The water comes from nature, we give it back to nature.

SPIEGEL:

What is your conclusion about the campaign?

Richard van Rijn:

The campaign was very, very well received.

Many farmers were there with their tugboats and tractors, but private individuals also fetched water and some came with handcarts and canisters.

SPIEGEL:

People came by with individual canisters?

Van Rijn:

After all the tractors had driven away, an elderly man came running alone across the meadow.

He had a five-liter canister with him and asked if I could fill it up.

The water level was already lower, he couldn't bend down that far.

So I filled the canister and asked him what he would do with it, because everyone else came with trucks and tractors and fetched water by the cubic meter.

The man said that his wife swam here every day for years.

He would now go to her grave and water the flowers with the water.

SPIEGEL:

You announced that you would be able to provide 800,000 liters of water.

How much is left?

Van Rijn:

I could still sell 750,000 liters now.

A lot has already been taken away, but the huge amount has remained in the pool.

This is also due to the fact that it has rained extensively in the past few days and there was no longer any need.

SPIEGEL:

And where does the rest of the water go now?

Van Rijn:

I just let the remaining liters run into the sewer in the direction of the sewage treatment plant.

I actually wanted to avoid that, but if there are no people who want the water, I have no other choice.

SPIEGEL:

Do you see the campaign as a role model for other swimming pools?

Van Rijn:

Definitely.

The baths can prepare for their closure, let the chemistry taper off, and then make it available to people.

I hope other pools will follow suit.

SPIEGEL:

So you will be making the water available again next year?

Van Rijn:

If we have another hot summer and a very dry period, I believe that the demand will be there.

This year's drought has brought people to the point that they need water.

Many farmers who were here now also filled up their fire-fighting tanks because they in turn had to use the water for their fields.

DER SPIEGEL:

What's next for you?

Van Rijn:

The remaining pool water naturally turns green like a normal lake.

In the spring, the water is drained, the pool is sprayed and prepared for the next season, which starts on May 1st.

For this purpose, the basins are filled with city water, into which the chemicals are then incorporated again.

Source: spiegel

All life articles on 2022-09-15

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