Este artículo detalla las regulaciones en la calidad del agua en piscinas y agua potable en Alemania, Canadá y Colombia, con una comparación con la regulación existente y los estándares de calidad de las aguas termales. Canadá, Alemania y Colombia regulan que el agua potable debe estar libre de niveles inseguros de sustancias y patógenos, especificando los parámetros microbiológicos y químicos que deben seguirse. Las piscinas en Canadá, Alemania y Colombia tienen regulaciones o estándares específicos para parámetros microbiológicos y químicos que deben seguirse. Al igual que la regulación del agua potable, el agua debe estar libre de organismos patógenos para conservar su calidad de agua. Por otro lado, en el caso de aguas termales donde el bañista tiene condiciones similares a las de las piscinas, Canadá y Alemania no cuentan con regulaciones o normas específicas para el agua de aguas termales. En cambio, se aplican a las aguas termales los mismos requisitos microbianos y químicos que para el agua de piscinas según la Normativa de piscinas públicas de Canadá y la norma Din 19643 de Alemania. Actualmente, Colombia no cuenta con reglamentos o normas sobre la calidad de las aguas termales, tal como lo establece el artículo 6 del Decreto 554 de 2015.

Circulation of pool water via a treatment plant is critical for maintaining pool water in a condition that is a safe and attractive for bathers. It is also one of the pool operations that is most costly in terms of energy used and associated carbon footprint. In this study, we compare and contrast circulation rate guidelines developed for the UK and for other northern and southern European countries and, where possible, provide an explanation of the underlying rationale. We focus on the management of turbidity-forming material and Cryptosporidium oocysts. We reveal that the parameters used to assess safe operational bathing load are relatively consistent across Europe, based on physical space requirements for bathing and other constraints such as lifeguarding. Circulation rate, on the other hand, is based on either rule-based turnover times, or a more flexible approach based on the volume of water to be treated per bather. The latter offers scope for innovation and energy savings, with the proviso that safe water is maintained for bathers. The guidance in several countries suggests reducing circulation rate when the pool is not being used by bathers. We conclude that a more progressive risk-based approach to pool management, building on these findings, offers significant opportunities for pool operators to run pools better and should be a priority for future research.

The presence of metals in hot springs has been associated with various adverse health effects. Although some elements are essential for humans, they are dangerous at high levels of exposure. There have been little studies on the presence of metals in hot springs in Colombia, therefore, laboratory tests were carried out over a period of six months (June to December, 2021), with spot samples every month in a ferruginous hot spring in the Cundinamarca region, Colombia. Tests were carried out for arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), aluminum (Al), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn), strontium (Sr), and calcium (Ca) in the Laboratory of the Bogota Aqueduct and Sewer Company (in Spanish EAAB). Since there are no regulations in Colombia there is no regulation on the quality of hot springs, the analysis of results was carried out by comparing them with standards for drinking water and swimming pools from countries such as Canada, Germany, and the World Health Organization (WHO) as well as hot springs in Japan. It was observed that iron was the only metal that exceeded the regulations for drinking water and swimming pools.