Public and shared-use swimming pools in Spain are entering a new phase. From January 2027, the qualifications of the professionals responsible for water treatment and technical maintenance will become much more important, as facilities face increasingly complex systems and stricter health and safety requirements.
The change involves much more than professional training. For community pools, municipal facilities, hotels, sports centres, campsites, spas and other aquatic facilities, it means moving towards a more technical approach to water management, with greater emphasis on accurate monitoring, preventive maintenance and clearly defined procedures.
And it is precisely in water treatment and water quality management where this shift is likely to have the greatest impact.
What will change for pool maintenance in 2027?
Royal Decree 742/2013, which sets the technical and health criteria for swimming pools in Spain, already established the need for staff responsible for these tasks to receive specific training. This requirement was subsequently strengthened by Royal Decree 3/2023, which introduced the need to demonstrate certain professional competencies.
The original deadline for meeting this requirement was January 2026. However, due to the limited availability of specialised training, the deadline was extended to 2 January 2027.
From that date, water treatment and certain maintenance tasks will have to be carried out by professionals who can demonstrate the required qualifications.
The aim is to establish a more consistent level of expertise across Spain and respond to a simple reality: maintaining a swimming pool in optimal condition now requires much more than simply adding disinfectant to the water.
Pool water requires increasingly precise management
Keeping pool water in good condition depends on the interaction of many different factors. pH, disinfectant levels, alkalinity, temperature, turbidity and redox potential, among other parameters, can all affect treatment efficiency and water quality.
Modern facilities also incorporate filtration systems, pumps, automatic dosing equipment, climate-control systems and different disinfection technologies. Indoor pools must also take ventilation and environmental conditions into account.
This means that even a relatively small deviation in one parameter can affect the entire system. For example, an incorrect pH can reduce the effectiveness of chlorine while increasing the risk of corrosion or scale formation. Poor filtration can make it harder to control turbidity and increase the workload placed on the disinfection system.
Professionalisation is intended to ensure that the people responsible for these systems can understand what the readings mean and address the underlying causes, rather than simply correcting the figures once they fall outside the recommended range.
Greater focus on microbiological prevention
Water quality is not simply a matter of keeping a pool looking clean and clear. It is also essential to control the microbiological risks that can arise under certain conditions.
Microorganisms such as Legionella, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Cryptosporidium highlight the importance of proper preventive measures and maintaining suitable operating conditions.
Effective maintenance therefore needs to consider the installation as a whole: from water circulation and renewal to filtration and disinfection, as well as the cleaning of surfaces and components where organic matter could accumulate.
Specialised training helps professionals understand how these factors interact and why preventive maintenance is so important in stopping a water-quality issue from becoming a health risk.
Automation as a tool for better water management
The new qualification requirement does not require pools to use any specific water-treatment technology. However, the need for more accurate management is increasing interest in systems that make it easier to monitor and control pool operations.
Automatic dosing and monitoring systems are a good example. Instead of relying solely on manual checks carried out at specific intervals, these systems can continuously monitor parameters such as pH and disinfectant levels and adjust dosing when necessary.
This does not mean that automation replaces the professional. Quite the opposite: the more sophisticated a system becomes, the more important it is for the person responsible for it to understand the readings, identify irregularities and make sure the equipment is operating correctly.
Technology can make maintenance easier, but professional oversight remains essential.
Why filtration and water circulation matter
When we talk about water treatment, it is easy to focus primarily on disinfection. However, water quality also depends on the proper operation of filtration, pumping and circulation systems.
Filters remove particles and help keep the water clear, while circulation ensures that the water passes through the different treatment stages. If any of these components is not working properly, the overall performance of the system can suffer.
Professional maintenance should therefore include regular checks of pumps, filters, valves, dosing systems and other hydraulic components. The condition of the filter media should also be monitored, with the appropriate cleaning and maintenance procedures carried out when necessary.
In shared-use facilities, where the number of swimmers can vary significantly throughout the day, this monitoring becomes even more important.
What role will professional certification play?
One of the main changes for the industry will be the introduction of a clearer framework of professional competencies.
The SEA757_2 qualification covers competencies relating to the physical and chemical treatment of water, parameter monitoring, microbiological risk prevention, the safe handling of biocides and the maintenance of equipment associated with aquatic facilities.
In addition, Royal Decree 1157/2024 established the SEA_C_006_4B professional certification for the Maintenance of Swimming Pools and Other Aquatic Facilities, structured as a 360-hour official training programme divided into three modules.
The aim is to give professionals access to a common, nationally recognised framework of skills and qualifications, reducing the differences that previously existed between training programmes and requirements.
For maintenance companies, this will also mean paying closer attention to the qualifications of their teams, whether they employ maintenance staff directly or outsource these services.
Community pools: a particularly important challenge
Community pools have certain characteristics that make effective maintenance especially important.
During the busiest months, the number of swimmers can increase significantly at particular times of day. This can affect parameters such as disinfectant levels, turbidity and the overall treatment demand placed on the water.
Many residential communities also rely on external companies to carry out technical maintenance. The new regulatory landscape makes it even more important to ensure that contracted services have properly qualified staff capable of managing water treatment and maintaining the relevant equipment correctly.
For those responsible for these facilities, 2027 could therefore be a good opportunity to review maintenance procedures, testing schedules, dosing systems, filtration performance and water-quality records.
Moving from guesswork to data-driven maintenance
Another consequence of this shift is the growing importance of documentation.
Recording water parameters, maintenance work, incidents and corrective measures provides a clearer picture of how a facility is actually performing. This is not simply about meeting administrative requirements: keeping a detailed history can make it easier to identify trends and anticipate potential problems.
For example, if records show that pH regularly drifts out of range or that a dosing system requires constant adjustments, this information can help identify an underlying issue that might not be obvious from isolated readings.
Combining measurement, record-keeping and analysis makes it possible to move away from reactive maintenance and towards a more preventive approach.
An opportunity to modernise aquatic facilities
The arrival of 2027 does not have to be viewed solely as another requirement for maintenance professionals. It can also encourage many pools to assess the condition of their facilities and consider potential improvements.
Upgrading filtration equipment, checking pumps, installing monitoring systems, improving dosing systems or introducing solutions that reduce the need to handle chemicals manually are some of the measures that can be considered depending on the characteristics of each pool.
There is no single technological solution that works for every facility. A small community pool does not have the same needs as a water park, hotel or municipal swimming pool. The key is to ensure that the treatment system is appropriate for the volume of water, level of use and specific characteristics of the facility, and that it can be properly supervised by qualified professionals.
2027 marks the start of a new chapter
The professionalisation of pool maintenance in Spain reflects a broader evolution that was already underway. Water-treatment systems are becoming more sophisticated, health and safety requirements are increasing, and the industry is placing greater emphasis on using resources efficiently.
In this environment, properly trained professionals will be essential for keeping all the factors that affect water quality under control: disinfection, pH, filtration, circulation, dosing, cleaning and microbiological prevention.
For community and public swimming pools, 2027 can therefore represent more than just a deadline. It is an opportunity to review how water is managed, improve maintenance procedures and make better use of the technologies available to create facilities that are safer, more efficient and easier to monitor.
