The outdoor swimming pool in Kandersteg, in the Bernese Oberland, was due to open on 20 May. But whilst preparing the facility for the season, they discovered a leak. Not just any leak: around 100,000 litres of water are escaping every day. More than a litre per second. At the rate it is losing water, the entire pool would be empty in about ten days. Three weeks on, the pool remains closed and no one knows exactly where that water is going.
What complicates the situation is that the leaking water has already been treated with chlorine and other chemicals. Inspections have ruled out the possibility that it is escaping through the normal pipes. It isn’t going into the sewers, but then where is it going? The local council cannot rule out the possibility that these substances are being released uncontrollably into the environment. Inspections have been carried out using cameras, the pressure in the pipes has been checked, and nothing has been found.
The local council is still investigating the source of the leak with the aim of resolving the issue as soon as possible so that the pool can reopen. What they aren’t saying is how long that might take. A municipal swimming pool that is losing 100,000 litres of chlorinated water a day to an unknown destination has a problem that cannot be fixed overnight. In Switzerland, where even swimming pool water is regulated down to the last millimetre, one has to admit that this mystery is quite something.
In summer, the swimming pool in Kandersteg is a popular destination for families from the Oberland. This year, the season is starting later than usual. The water has simply dried up.