Pool Is Cool, the Brussels-based lobby group campaigning for open-air swimming, has welcomed the Flemish plan to allow open-water swimming in all waters in public spaces unless specifically banned. The plan does not apply to Brussels that is a separate region under the jurisdiction of the Brussels regional government. “Brussels also has too few waters to allow swimming,” says Paul Steinbruck of Pool Is Cool.
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Brussels lobby group ‘Pool Is Cool’ enthusiastic about Flemish plans for outdoor swimming
Colin Clapson
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Pool Is Cool has been campaigning for open-air swimming in Brussels for years. There have been initiatives along the Brussels canal, and in Anderlecht the group built its own small swimming pool, Flow. Spokesperson Paul Steinbruck welcomes the Flemish decision to allow open-water swimming in all waters in the public space unless it is indicated otherwise.
“We’ll have to see what that means in practice, though. If local authorities and cities ban everything everywhere and the Vlaamse Waterweg, the Flemish agency that manages rivers and canals, maintains its ban on swimming in navigable canals and rivers, it may be that little changes. But it does offer an opportunity for many swimming initiatives.”
Does not apply to Brussels
Whether the Flemish plan will make any difference in Brussels, the Belgian and Flemish capital, where there isn’t even a public outdoor swimming pool, remains to be seen. “Brussels is not Flanders, so this rule does not apply here. Moreover, we have very little water in the Brussels Region that is suitable for swimming. The rivers and streams often run underground, are shallow and frequently have poor water quality. That leaves only the canal, but just as in Flanders, swimming is prohibited there.”
In the Brussels canal after all?
Nevertheless, Steinbruck believes the canal could be a solution. “Sections of the canal could be used for swimming. But only in the south, where the water quality is better. In Brussels, we don’t have the lakes, ponds or rivers that you find in Flanders. Of course, Flanders is close by; the whole of Brussels is surrounded by Flanders. If there are initiatives there – including, for example, in the canal – then people from Brussels can go there too.”
The Brussels Canal consists of the parts of the Brussels-Charleroi Canal and the Brussels-Scheldt Maritime Canal running on the territory of the Brussels region as well as the Port of Brussels.
Outdoor swimming pools wanted
At Pool is Cool, they remain committed to outdoor swimming pools in the Brussels Region. “That is the only solution. Swimming in natural waters would be a nice extra option, but it is time for the creation of swimming pools in the Brussels Region.” At the most recent Brussels meeting of the Brussels government, the go-ahead was given for a tender for an outdoor swimming pool in the borough of Anderlecht.