Swimming pool

From Greenlivingpedia, a wiki on green living, building and energy

Consider carefully whether you really need a swimming pool. Domestic swimming pools lose a lot of water every day due to evaporation.

Perhaps the time has come to only allow the filling of pools from roof storm water, or to ban them? Surely this is now a luxury that we cannot really afford, if we are serious about taking all available steps to combat climate change.

The average pool would only get used about 15 days in a year in any case.

[edit] Swimming pools need a lot of water

A family of four can normally get by with about 25,000 litres of water storage. Most domestic swimming pools contain significantly more water than this – up to 50,000 litres is not uncommon.

[edit] Carting water for pools is not sustainable

Water restrictions in Melbourne, Australia, now disallow filling pools from the mains water, so now people pay to have it trucked in from country Victoria.

The direct consequences of this are:

• Depletion of acquifers (underground water) where this water is pumped from
• Carbon emissions from pumping from the ground, truck transport, then pumping from the truck to the pool.

This practice is inappropriate for these reasons; it is simply not sustainable.

[edit] Alternatives

Go to the beach, a nearby river, or a community swimming pool.