Water consumption in a public swimming pool

Swimming pools are heavy consumers of potable water and energy in cities. Despite this, the lack of monitoring requirements produces a lack of references for their water consumption. This paper aims to fill this gap by presenting a case-study water consumption analysis of a public swimming pool in the city of Bologna (Italy). After upgrading the water fixtures and filters in summer 2012, consumption and attendance at the Cá Selvatica swimming pool were monitored. With an average daily attendance of 88.6 people/day, taking into account both personal and technical consumption, an overall per capita consumption of about 96.1 l/person/day was determined. The water demand for personal uses only (showers, toilets, etc.) was found to be about 44.6 l/person/day. These values can be used to assess retrofitting benefits and water consumption benchmarks.