Hygiene Requirements for Public Swimming Pools

Issued pursuant to
Section 38.¹ of the Epidemiological Safety Law

1. This Regulation prescribes the hygiene requirements for the public swimming pools used for swimming, leisure activities and preventive treatment. Within the context of this Regulation, public swimming pools are all pools except for the pools used only for personal needs.

2. This Regulation shall not apply to swimming pools which are located outdoors, and also to swimming pools located in bathhouses (saunas).

3. In order to ensure the compliance of a swimming pool with the hygiene requirements, the rooms before the entry into the swimming pool shall be arranged as follows:

3.1. entrance hall for the keeping of outdoor clothes;

3.2. dressing room;

3.3. shower rooms and toilet facilities;

3.4. staff room;

3.5. room for the storage of inventory for the cleaning of premises.

4. An area for hair drying shall be provided within the dressing room.

5. The shower room shall be equipped with shower systems, providing for not less than one shower system per 30 visitors.

6. In the toilet facility, toilet bowls shall be placed in separate cabins, providing for at least one toilet bowl per 20 visitors. The entrance hall of the toilet facility shall be equipped with a washstand (a sink).

7. A toilet facility shall be provided with a toilet paper, soap or other hand washing products, hand dryers or disposable towels.

8. Within the shower rooms and toilet facilities of a swimming pool, continuous supply of cold and hot water shall be ensured.

9. The water to be supplied to the swimming pool, shower rooms and toilet facilities shall correspond to the mandatory water safety requirements (except when sea water or mineral water is supplied).

10. In the swimming pool, the water temperature shall be 25 ºC-29 ºC. In the swimming pool which is intended only for children, the water temperature shall be 28 ºC-30 ºC.

11. In the room in which the swimming pool is located and in all the rooms connected with it, the maximum permissible relative humidity shall be 85 %, the air movement rate shall not exceed 0.15 meters per second.

12. Air temperature in the room in which the swimming pool is located shall be higher than the water temperature in the swimming pool by 1 ºC-3 ºC.

13. The room in which the swimming pool is located and all the rooms connected with it shall be fitted with general artificial lighting. In the room in which the swimming pool is located the artificial lighting shall not be less than 300 lux, but in other rooms - not less than 100 lux.

14. In a swimming pool, water turnover in the amount of not less than 5 % of the capacity of the swimming pool shall be ensured every twenty-four hours.

15. In a swimming pool with a water recirculation system the capacity of which is 200 m³ or more, continuous operation of the water treatment system shall be ensured at all times of a day. If the capacity of a swimming pool with a water recirculation system is less than 200 m³, the operation of the water treatment system shall be ensured during the times when the pool is being used.

16. In a swimming pool with a special water treatment system, water shall be treated and disinfected by complying with the rules for the operation of devices that comply with the requirements of the laws and regulations governing the safety of products and services on the use of water treatment systems, and use and exact dosage of appropriate substances which shall be inspected at regular intervals (once per month) and on which entry shall be made in the self-monitoring logbook of the swimming pool.

17. The swimming pool and water pipes shall be washed, disinfected and rinsed with water by means of pressure, and the water in the swimming pool shall be completely changed:

17.1. at least three times per month - for a swimming pool with a flow-through water system;

17.2. at least once per year - for a swimming pool with a water recirculation system;

17.3. by complying with the rules for the operation of devices that comply with the requirement of the laws and regulations governing the safety of products and services - for a swimming pool with a water recirculation system and a special water treatment system.

18. In the swimming pool, the water quality shall be ensured according to the water quality indicators specified in Annex 1 of this Regulation. If sea water or mineral water is being supplied to the swimming pool, its quality shall correspond to the microbiological indicators of water quality specified in Annex 1 to this Regulation.

19. The owner or the possessor of the swimming pool shall ensure self-monitoring of the operation of the swimming pool in accordance with Annex 2 to this Regulation by recording the self-monitoring indicators in writing in a logbook or electronic document created specifically for this purpose. The owner or the possessor of the swimming pool shall appoint a person to be responsible for the control of the compliance with the requirements specified in Paragraphs 21 and 22 of this Regulation.

20. The owner or the possessor of the swimming pool shall draw up the internal rules of procedures of a swimming pool and ensure that they are complied with. The internal rules of procedures of a swimming pool shall be available to visitors (placed in an area the size of which is not smaller than 21 × 30 cm so that they could be easily seen and read).

21. In order to maintain cleanliness and order in the room in which the swimming pool is located and in other rooms connected with the operation of the swimming pool, rooms shall be cleaned and disinfected at regular intervals, but at least once a day. The owner or the possessor of the swimming pool shall ensure that records are kept of each time the room is cleaned and disinfected by indicating the date and time when the cleaning and disinfection was carried out, and also the person who carried it out. The records shall be available to visitors of the swimming pool upon a request.

22. Visitors of a swimming pool are not allowed to use the swimming pool if they have a contagious skin disease. Visitors of a swimming pool who have visible signs of a skin, hair or nail disease shall present to the responsible person a statement of a medical practitioner attesting that the disease is not contagious.

23. The Health Inspectorate shall control the implementation of this Regulation.

24. Paragraph 20 of this Regulation shall come into force on 1 March 2009.

Prime Minister I. Godmanis

Minister for Health I. Eglītis

Annex 1
Cabinet Regulation No. 37
13 January 2009

Quality indicators of the water in the swimming pool

Minister for Health I. Eglītis

Annex 2
Cabinet Regulation No. 37
13 January 2009

Requirements for the Self-monitoring of a Swimming Pool

Minister for Health I. Eglītis

Translation © 2018 Valsts valodas centrs (State Language Centre)