They are the DIRECTION
DEPARTMENTALE DES AFFAIRES SANITAIRES ET SOCIALES and they have
branch offices in all prefectures and most sub-prefecture towns
in France.
What do they do
The DDASS, as they are
commonly known, control the operations of establishment like public
swimming pools in France
What
does that have to do with my pool?
Application
to Gite Complexes
Owners
of gite complexes in Frances and those considering the purchase
of a gite complex in France should be aware that a swimming pool
that is to be used by more than one family at a time will be designated
a public swimming pool (piscine publique) by the DDASS. The filtration
requirements for water sanitation in these pools are very stringent
and the cost of upgrading an existing pool to meet the DDASS requirements
can be quite expensive. However a new 12m x 6m swimming pool that
fully meets these filtration requirements can be installed at an
extra cost of about 3000 euros for a 10 x 5 pool and 4500 euros
for a 12 x 6 pool
Bluepools
DDASS advisory service
In
2006 Bluepools launched its advisory service to help the owners
of gite complexes with swimming pools meet the requirements of
the DDASS rules in France.
EEC requirements
It has recently become
clear that many gite complex owners are entirely unaware of the
DDASS rules that are based on the requirements of the EEC commission
This
issue is particularly germane to those who are considering the purchase
of a gite complex by their pension fund now that the rules since
2006 allow one to do so. The upgrading of the gite complex swimming
pool could be an entirely unexpected extra cost.
The Bluepools advisory
service will help gite complex owners meet the DDASS requirements
easily and economically.
What are these DDASS
rules?
Rules cover 4 areas
The rules cover four
areas and these are:
Hygiene and Safety
(Hygiene et Securite)
Water circulation
time (Circulation d'eau, temps de recyclage)
Pre-filtration, pumps
and filtration (Prefiltration, pompage et filtration)
Cleaning the filters-hydraulic
circuits (Lavage des filtres, circuit hydraulique)
Rule 1
Rule 1 requires a shower
and disinfected foot washes to be provided and limits the number
of bathers using a pool to 1 bather for every 2 square metres of
pool area. It also requires a stringent testing regime to ensure
water quality at all times.
Rule 2
The requirements of Rule
2 are quite complex - for instance a 12m x 6m swimming pool with
a hopper may require 4 skimmers, 6 water inlets, 2 main drains at
least 2 metres apart with 2 skimmers feeding a 63mm diameter pipe,
3 inlets fed from a 63mm diameter pipe and a 50 mm pipe from each
of the main drains.
Rule 3
This requires pumps and
filters that will match the filter and purify the water at the rate
required by the water circulation requirements of Rule 2. The most
economic pump and filter system would probably consist of a two
sets each consisting of a 1.5 hp pump and 750 mm sand filter - each
set would be connected to 3 inlets, 2 skimmers and one of the main
drains via the pipes described above. In broad terms the water in
a shallow pool will need to re-cycled faster than the water in deeper
pools but for maximum economy each pool filtration system will need
to be designed on a bespoke basis.
Rule 4
This gives the requirements
for washing the filter and flow speed limits in the hydraulic circuits.
What is the practical
effect of the DDASS rules?
Main Impact
The main impact of the
DDASS rules relates to pool built from swimming pool kits. It is
extremely unlikely that any kit pool will meet the DDASS requirements
and in most instances up-grading a kit pool to meet the requirements
will not be economically viable because of the water circulation
requirements. This particularly applies to the pools that do not
have skimmers and just circulate the water through the ladders.
Multi-family use
If a gite complex owner
allows more than one family to use the pool (including his / her
own family) then it will be classed as a public pool. If the swimming
pool does not comply with the DDASS rules it is probable that the
owner will be stopped from advertising the pool and the guests stopped
from using it
How will the new
Bluepools advisory service work?
Visit and Free Report
Bluepools will visit
the pool site and provide a free report on the best way to meet
the DDASS requirements either in a new pool or in the upgrading
of an existing swimming pool. Contact us on 0546 48 37 99 for further
details or fill in our Contact Form at the top of this page and
type DDAS in where it says pool size.
We
hate spam and we guarantee that we will never ever
give your Email address to anyone
Bluepools SARL
15 Ave de Lattre de Tassigny 17500 Jonzac Tel 0546 48 37 99
Tel 0207 100 3551
This is a VOIP
telephone with a London number answered in France-
But the office is often empty when we are out on site
Please send us
the Form and you will receive an Email from us that you can reply
to.
Please add the
Email address to your Address Book. If you do not see the Email
please look in your Spam folder to see it has been redirected
and then add it to your Address Book
Thank you to Bluepools for the lovely
swimming pool you have installed for us. We are very
pleased with it and this justifies our decision to
choose Bluepools to do the installation for us. It
has been a great success with our gite clients also,
from whom we have had some very complimentary comments.
Best Regards
Kevin & Debbie MILLS
"Blue Pools have
done a fabulous job on the pool at our holiday home
in Argenton-sur-Creuse. It wasn't easy to instal but
they kept us informed of progress and always came
up with solutions that overcame the obstacles &
ensured we got our dream pool. What I liked most is
that they returned to put right a couple of problems
with the equipment after the job was done, at no extra
cost. The finish is very good and is made to a high
standard with very low maintenance. It is great to
see such dedication & integrity - I can't speak
highly enough of Will, Luke & their staff.
Andrew Campbell"
I appreciated the answers to my questions
and the time Luke spent at our initial meeting, going
thriough the various options, with helpful suggestions
and observations on our plans for our new pool at
our holiday home near Tarbres. It was a relief to
find a company that was prepared to offer a full construction
solution including the terracing, steps and landscaping.
I found the quotation very comprehensive, and useful
to have an idea of the costs we might incur should
ground conditions prove difficult - which they did!!
Also appreciated Bluepools ability to overcome the
difficulty encountered with the water table.
You were pretty accurate in terms of timescale for
completing the project although there was an over
run of three days because of the day or two later
than advised start, the extra work involved in overcoming
the water table issue, and the inclement weather towards
the end of the final week.
Having been initially advised by Luke that an engineering
project of this scale would undoubtedly create damage
to the land surrounding the pool site, we were pleasantly
surprised at how little damage had actually been caused.
Overall, very happy with how
everything has been handled, and would happily recommend
Bluepools - especially now they're going to have a
presence down that way.
Kind Regards
Andrew Lund-Yates
I would
like to thank you for the way you handled the installations
off the two swimming pools for me. You managed to
start just after the selected time, proved to be totally
reliable and finished in the time frame you had expected.
The quality of the work was fine and you left everything
neat and tidy after you had finished. I have good
relationship with Luke and he has always been available
to sort out any teething problems. I would like to
wish you all the very best for the future.
Kind
Regards Keith Trenter
When working on an old house there
are always many unforeseen problems, and, like many
other Brits, our house is old. So when it came to
putting a swimming pool close to the house it was
not surprising to find some complications. Bluepools
proved themselves by recognising these complications
and coming up with solutions.
Their ability to cope with these extras has made such
a difference. Otherwise we would have been chasing
around, spending time we really do not have, looking
for additional artisans to do those unforeseen bits
and pieces.
From the earliest stages, a test hole for the fosse
septique soak-away, through to completion of the swimming
pool Bluepools products and services have been good
which means peace of mind for us."
Peter Butler
Hi
Luke,
The
pool has been brilliant and we have had an increase
in the number of people wanting to visit as a result.
But that is something we can put up with!
Caroline
Jones - August 2007
Dear Luke
Many thanks to you,
Will and the lads for a terrific job, Amanda and I
are really pleased with the result.
