Too Many Pools In Alicante

THERE are too many swimming pools in Alicante province for the amount of available water.

According to the Spanish General Directorate of the Cadastre, there are currently nearly 128,000 swimming pools in Alicante, the equivalent of one for every 14 inhabitants, making it one of the provinces with the most pools in Spain.

But the ratio increases in certain individual towns such as Javea, Denia, Teulada, Benissa, Calpe and La Nucia, where the equivalent is one pool for every 3-11 inhabitants due to the type of houses, ie large urbanisations with individual pools and big, single-family houses with huge pools.

But the figure is thought to be even higher, as there are said to be many ‘unofficial’ pools that are not registered with the Cadastre.

To fill them all up at the same time would reportedly require an estimated 10 cubic hectometres of water – which contrasts with the fact that the area has an endemic shortage of water compared to other Spanish provinces.

At present, all the swimming pools in the province are said to accumulate an estimated 10 cubic hectometres of water – nearly the amount consumed in one year in a town the size of Benidorm, with 70,000 residents that triple in number over the peak tourism season.

As to the question of whether this is sustainable, experts believe that it is as long as these pools are well managed throughout the year, which includes not emptying them every year or looking for other uses for the water when they are going to be emptied.

The responsibility for this measure reportedly falls to local councils, who have the authority over urban water supplies.

Desalinated water is said to be the best option, as it is effectively an unlimited resource although the ideal course of action would still be to regulate what happens with the water when pools are emptied.