The municipal pool project

The phases

1. Feasibility and vision. The municipality decides what swimming provision it needs for the coming decades: which user groups (lessons, clubs, schools, leisure), how much water, and whether the existing pool can be renovated or must be replaced. The first choices on operation and budget are made here.

2. Brief. The brief (in Dutch: programma van eisen) sets out what the pool must do: dimensions and depths, number of lanes, movable floors or movable bulkheads, competition requirements, accessibility, energy and air quality. It is the basis for the tender. For sports requirements, the national swimming federations are the point of reference: KNZB (Netherlands), Belswim with Zwemfed and FFBN (Belgium) and FLNS (Luxembourg). In the Netherlands, the KNZB Swimming Pool Handbook is a widely used reference.

3. Design and tender. Depending on the contract form, the architect prepares the design for tender, or the municipality asks for an integrated bid (see below). For works worth €5,404,000 excluding VAT or more (EU threshold 2026–2027), a European tender is required.

4. Construction. The contractor manages the site. The pool is installed while the building and the installations go up. The interfaces between pool, water treatment and building need coordination.

5. Handover and operation. The pool is filled, tested and handed over to the operator. A competition pool is then officially surveyed. Maintenance follows, and under a DBM contract it is part of the contract.

Who does what?

EWAC Pools builds the pool itself. We do not carry out water treatment or climate installations: the installer chosen by the municipality or contractor does. Myrtha technologies built into the walls and gutter, such as wall-only inlets and Myrtha Breathe in the overflow gutter, are coordinated with that installer.

Traditional, Design and Build or DBM?

• Traditional: the municipality (with consultant and architect) has the design made and then tenders the construction. The pool is part of the contractor’s specification, or is tendered separately.
• Design and Build: one party designs and builds, based on a functional brief. In the Netherlands this is usually done under the UAV-GC conditions. The pool builder is then a subcontractor or a consortium partner.
• Design, Build and Maintain (DBM): as Design and Build, with maintenance for a longer period in the same contract. The service life and maintenance interval of the pool then count directly in the bid.

Under Design and Build and DBM, most of the design responsibility lies with the contractor. For the pool, this means the choices (construction method, dimensions, equipment) are fixed at bid stage. The earlier the pool builder is involved, the lower the risk of changes later.

Where EWAC Pools comes in

• Feasibility: factual input on renovation inside the existing shell or new build, with an indication of time and cost for each option after a survey of the existing pool. See Renovate or rebuild?
• Brief: input on dimensions, depths, movable floors and bulkheads, competition requirements and pool accessibility.
• Specification: specification texts for the pool, so the requirements are measurable and verifiable. [CHECK: make NL/BE specification texts available as a download, see proposal #16.]
• Tender and construction: as pool builder to the contractor or consortium. EWAC Pools installs; Myrtha handles the engineering and the manufacture of the panels.
• After handover: maintenance and service in the BeNeLux, with a single point of contact.

Belgium: public procurement and specifications

In Belgium, a municipal pool falls under the Public Procurement Act of 17 June 2016. The municipality draws up a specification (lastenboek / cahier des charges) and chooses one of the procedures in the Act. Design and Build contracts are also possible. Above the EU threshold (€5,404,000 excluding VAT for works in 2026–2027), the European publication rules apply.

To apply for the Flemish swimming pool decree subsidy, the specification must already be approved by the governing body and advertised before the application. Provisional acceptance must follow within 3.5 years of the application. That puts the brief and the specification on the critical path. In Wallonia, Infrasports has its own sequence (eligibility, preliminary design, full project, payment). See Swimming pool subsidies.

Frequently asked questions

When should a municipality involve the pool builder?

In the feasibility or briefing phase. Dimensions, movable floors and the choice between renovation and new build can then still change at no cost.

Does a pool have to be tendered at European level?

Yes, if the estimated value of the works is €5,404,000 excluding VAT or more (threshold 2026–2027). This applies in the Netherlands and in Belgium.

Does EWAC Pools also do water treatment and ventilation?

No. EWAC Pools builds the pool itself. Water treatment and climate are the installer’s work; we coordinate the pool connections with them.

What does Design and Build mean for the pool?

The contractor designs and builds, and carries the design responsibility. The choices for the pool are fixed in the bid, so early coordination with the pool builder matters.

Does EWAC Pools provide specification texts?

Yes, for the pool and its equipment, for projects in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Discuss your project? Is your municipality starting a pool project, or are you writing a brief or specification? Get in touch, e-mail pools@ewac.nl or call +31 (0)226 31 34 57. We can advise on the pool and supply the specification texts.

Read also: Pool design for architects, Maintenance and life-cycle cost, New pool construction, Public pool regulations, Leisure.

Sources

PIANOo, EU tender thresholds (Dutch)
PIANOo, UAV and UAV-GC conditions (Dutch)
FPS BOSA, Public Procurement Act of 17 June 2016
Public Procurement, Legislation
Sport Vlaanderen, Subsidies for public swimming pools (Dutch)
Wallonie.be, Subsidies for sports facilities (French)
KNZB, Handboek zwembaden (Dutch)
EWAC Pools, Renovate or rebuild? (survey method)

Last updated: 28 September 2026