The indoor swimming pool in Goetheallee has been closed since 27 November 2017 due to technical and hygienic problems. According to Bonn city council, however, public swimming will only start on Tuesday 4 September because Mondays at the Beuel pool are traditionally reserved for school and club swimming. When asked whether the council could nevertheless react flexibly to possible fine weather, Zießnitz replied: "In fine weather, the council plans to extend the outdoor swimming season at the Hardtbergbad combined swimming pool. The open-air section then remains open in addition to the indoor swimming pool. Further outdoor pools cannot be opened from September as there are not enough staff to enable parallel operation of both the outdoor and indoor pools. Moreover, from the beginning of September, most seasonal workers will no longer be available."

Marion Duisberg, Managing Director of the Städtischen Gebäudemanagements (SGB), the municipal building management in Bonn, is very confident that the remaining work in the Beueler Bütt will be completed in time for the opening of the pool: "We are not really on schedule and actually wanted to be finished long ago, but the availability of the construction companies has somewhat thwarted our plans. But now we are almost there." For example, ceiling work in the entrance area and installation work in the showers and changing rooms still have to be carried out. The two swimming pools are currently being filled with water. The training pool holds up to 75 cubic metres of water, the multi-purpose pool over 700 cubic metres. It takes time. On Monday, both pools should be full so that the technicians can start the first test runs.

At a cost of around 250,000 euros, the city has updated a large part of the pool technology so that the water hygiene once again complies with regulations. The to-do list also included: renovation of the filtering systems, removal of leaking drains in the showers and the male and female toilets, repairs to tile damage and to leaking ventilation ducts.

A particular amount of effort was put into the so-called surge chambers. The entire interior of the cavities was changed. The old, porous concrete walls were equipped with smooth – and thus significantly more hygienic - plastic plates. This extensive work was necessary due to the age of the pool technology which was no longer working properly. The indoor swimming pool first opened in 1963. At that time, there were completely different requirements on indoor swimming pools compared to those from today.

The aim of the extensive renovation work is to bring the water quality in the pools back up to modern standards. This will also be achieved through significantly improved water hydraulics. A new inflow system will significantly improve the circulation of the water in the pools. For the first time, a UVC system will also upgrade the pool technology. It will sterilise the water in addition to the filters.

At the same time as the works on the swimming pool, a few days ago the city council started with the roof renovation work from the outside. This work will continue beyond 3 September, which is why the car park in front of the swimming pool will only be partially available. The ventilation shafts in the Beueler Bütt gymnastics hall will also be repaired by the time the pool opens. In other words, the sports clubs will be able to offer their services there again from 3 September.

"We will start up the technology next Monday. A new chlorine dosing system will also help us to optimally adjust the water quality," says pool manager Jürgen Stoll optimistically. From 13 August, the Institute of Hygiene at the University of Bonn will be taking water samples to determine its quality.

Asked whether all this repair work would be beneficial for the complete refurbishment of Beueler Bütt planned for a few years' time, Duisberg replied: "Yes, the repairs were carried out in anticipation of the upcoming entire refurbishment. The current works were not carried out for nothing. The second step is to improve the building fabric from the 1960s and make it more attractive".

(Original text: Holger Willcke, Translation: Caroline Payne)