In Portugal there is a legal void regarding the regulation of installation and operation of biological swimming pools for public use, as the legal regime that regulates the quality of bathing water or swimming pools for public use not being applicable.

The water quality assessment parameters of the legal regime for indoor bathing waters may be too permissive, as opposed to the legal regime and regulations applicable to swimming pools for public use, which may be too restrictive.

The installation and operation of biological pools are completely different from conventional pools or bathing sites in nature. For example, with regard to the treatment system used, in case of conventional swimming pools, or the natural renewal of the water body in the case of bathing waters such as river beaches. Consequently, an adaptation of the rules by analogy is prevented.

Faced with this need, based on a proposal for a guideline, published by the International Organization for natural bathing waters IOB, the “Guidelines for bathing facilities with biological treatment” were drawn up by the Iberian Group of Natural Bathing Waters GIABN, a bi-national association of professional designers and builders of biological pools in the Iberian Peninsula. These guidelines are now recommended to laboratories analyzing water from biological pools for tourist use,  by letter from ARS Algarve, to contextualize water analyzes and their correct interpretation. Therefore, laboratories are instructed how to frame analysis values ​​for water treated by biological means, as well as limit-values ​​to be respected in this context.

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