Located on the heights of Montbéliard, the outdoor swimming pool of the René Donzé Aquatic Center is recognized for the quality of its layout: a wooded park in which there are 3 pools: a large pool of 50m x 20m; a small pool of 25m x 12.50m and a paddling pool of 13m in diameter. In addition to the two indoor pools frequented throughout the school year. The outdoor swimming pool of the René Donzé Aquatic Center will welcome the public from this Monday, July 1, 2024.
The small pool and the outdoor paddling pool will be open from this Monday, July 1st at 10:30 a.m. As for the large pool, it will open later, depending on the completion of the renovation work started in September 2023. While waiting for the reopening of the large outdoor pool, the City of Montbéliard will exceptionally open the indoor pool. Access will be via the entrance to the outdoor pool.
Activities are offered every day to families to further enhance their outing to the swimming pool. The City of Montbéliard and its partners have put together a complete program of free events: aquagym, zumba, treasure hunt, break dancing, football, board games, climbing and many other activities… Parents, children, young and old swimmers will appreciate the diversity of activities. All the summer activities at the swimming pool can be found in the Montbel’été program.
The snacking point, run by Isabelle Caburet, will be open during the entire operating period of the swimming pool, from July 1 to August 27, 2024, every day from 11:00 a.m.
Modernization work on the outdoor swimming pool
The work carried out in recent years aimed to renovate and modernize the outdoor swimming pool, which had become dilapidated (it dates from 1964) and make this remarkable site a privileged place for families from Montbéliard and its surrounding area. With this in mind, numerous developments have been made around the pools, in the snack bar, the paddling pool with the installation of new fun games (in 2019) or even the small pool (in 2022)
Through these investments, the municipality’s objective is to bring the establishment up to date and meet the expectations of families who have returned to the site for several summers now. In addition to these comfort arrangements, the City of Montbéliard has also strengthened the surveillance of bathers and the security system. The philosophy remains the same: zero tolerance for people who behave in a disrespectful manner towards the equipment, staff and other bathers. It was the turn of the large pool to undergo a complete facelift this year.
Renovation of the large pool
With its 50m long, 20m wide and 2m depth on average, the large pool is the main equipment and main attraction of the summer swimming pool. This is a very important project in terms of volume of work which began in 2023 as soon as the summer swimming pool closed. The large pool will be able to accommodate swimmers once the work is finalized (depending on weather conditions).
The first step consisted of removing the copings and all of the tiling from the pool, representing an area of approximately 1,300 m². The structure was then replaced by a new reinforced concrete form. The work continued with several stages: waterproofing, laying tiling, replacing the filling nozzles. The work currently underway consists of installing the tile joints. Four days without rain in a row are necessary to dry the bottom joints in particular. A stage which has been slowed down by the weather conditions of recent weeks.
A final phase of work will make it possible to redevelop the beaches – like what was done around the small basin – and to review the pipes around the basin (from the fall). All of this work aims to improve reception conditions for families who are gradually finding their way back to the pools. It is also, in these times marked by the climate crisis and inflation, an opportunity to improve the operation of equipment and save water and money. As an indication, water losses due to sealing defects in the large basin (excluding natural evaporation and water renewal) were 120 m3 per day. That is the equivalent of 10,000 m3 and €35,000 including tax for a summer season. Cost: €1,100,000 including tax. Subsidies: State under the DSIL, €399,765 / State under the DPV, €350,000.
Hours of operation
In July 2024, the Aquatic Center will be open every day from 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. (evacuation of the pools at 7:00 p.m. and the ticket offices at 6:15 p.m.). As for the month of August, the opening will be conditional on the recruitment of lifeguards. This is a problem that affects many swimming pools across the urban area and far beyond.
