The use of seawater in public swimming pools could offer a more sustainable solution given the challenges posed by climate change and the growing scarcity of potable water across Europe. However, the swimming pool sector currently lacks a unified European legislative framework and faces significant fragmentation, particularly regarding the use of seawater. This scoping review applies a methodology to collect and analyze the international and national regulations of 23 coastal European countries relevant to swimming pool water safety. It provides an overview of existing European legislation on the use of seawater in public swimming pools and outlines the permitted disinfection methods. The review also highlights the highly variable and fragmented regulatory frameworks for microbiological and chemical water quality parameters, as well as the limits imposed on disinfection by-products (DBPs). Furthermore, it addresses the potential risks associated with seawater use in pools, with particular attention to the toxicity of DBPs that may form under such conditions. The findings underscore the urgent need for legislative updates in the pool sector and highlight the potential for developing specific European regulations. These would help harmonize practices across the sector and improve the management of both sustainability and public health in recreational aquatic environments.

The use of seawater in public swimming pools could offer a more sustainable solution considering the challenges posed by climate change faced across Europe and the scarcity of potable water. However, the sector of swimming pools currently lacks a unified European legislative framework and faces significant fragmentation, particularly regarding seawater use. This paper examines the existing regulatory landscape concerning seawater utilization in public swimming pools across 23 European coastal countries, providing an overview of the situation and outlining permitted disinfection methods. It also addresses the chaotic state of standardized physicochemical and microbiological parameters, as well as quality limits imposed on disinfection by-products in pool water and their toxicity. The findings underscore the urgent need for legislative updates and highlight the potential for developing relevant European regulations to standardize practices within the sector, to better manage sustainability and public health in aquatic environments.