The strategic community value of swimming pools

The International Association for Sports and Leisure Facilities (IAKS) has released a whitepaper Why do we build pools?, which looks at the value of public swimming facilities to the community.

IAKS has partners and members in 153 countries. National divisions serve local interests, organise regional events and provide services to the members of their countries.

In Australia, Fluidra Australia commercial marketing executive Yvette Audet has recently been re-elected to the IAKS board of directors, serving as vice president.

This whitepaper, edited by Darryl Condon, Warren Green, Gar Holohan, RJ Houston, Stefan Kannewischer (chair), Jens Oyas Moller and Frederic Tomarchio, explores what pools can offer, and makes the case for approaching them not simply as recreational facilities, but as strategic investments in public health, community development, and social infrastructure.

Below are some extracts from the paper, but the full document can be downloaded from IAKS.

Health, wellbeing and safety benefits

Drowning prevention, water safety, learning to swim: Swimming pools teach essential life skills, including how to feel comfortable in and around water. Learning to swim builds confidence; it prepares children and adults for safe aquatic experiences in all environments.

Rehabilitation: Water-based activities are a powerful tool for physical rehabilitation. For some people – including those with joint problems, injuries, or excess weight – it can be one of the most effective and low-impact forms of physical activity.

Wellbeing, relaxation, and mental health: The calming properties of water – particularly in thermal and spa environments – can help relax the body and mind, reduce stress, and support an individual’s overall mental wellness.

Leisure and fun: Pools are designed to support families with children and adolescents. They provide a healthy space to connect, play, and spend quality leisure time together.

Building a foundation for other water activities: Swimming is a foundational skill to safely engage with most other water activities, including surfing, kayaking, and paddleboarding.

Respite from heat: During times of extreme heat, as well as in hot regions of the world, it can be a matter of life or death to cool down. Water is incredibly efficient for lowering the body’s core temperature; pools can therefore provide a valuable public safety service.

Social benefits

Youth development: Swimming and other water activities are a positive and healthy way of spending leisure time and can help build social networks. Involvement in swim clubs or working as lifeguards can also foster leadership and provide employment opportunities for young people.

Community building and engagement: Pools act as gathering spaces that strengthen community bonds. They offer a shared environment where people of all ages and backgrounds can connect.

Inclusion, universal design, and an equitable society: Pools can be enjoyed across all stages of life and levels of ability; they are truly a place for all. With inclusive design and accessibility in mind, they become places where everyone feels welcome and supported.

Sport benefits

Fitness and sport for all: From lane swimming to water aerobics, pools host a wide range of physical activities that promote health and fitness among diverse individuals and groups.

Competitive sport: Swimming competitions and other water-based sports offer an opportunity for people to pursue their personal fitness goals, build discipline, and stay active.

Elite sport: A strong network of local, regional, and national pools supports the development of high-performance athletes and a path to elite-level competition.

Economic benefits

Reduced healthcare system costs: Participation at public pools helps lower healthcare system costs by promoting healthier, more active lifestyles. One clear example of this was during the covid-19 lockdowns, when many elderly individuals were unable to attend their regular water gymnastics classes. As a result, their health significantly deteriorated, demonstrating the important role public aquatic programs play in preventative healthcare.

Reduced workplace absenteeism: The health of the workforce was a key motivation when the pool sector was nationalised starting in England around 1850, with “public baths”. The recognition of this benefit remains to this day.

Neighbourhood development: Leisure facilities, including pools and community centres, are catalysts for urban renewal. They can improve the desirability of a community and even increase local property values.

Attracting new businesses: Companies increasingly consider the availability of community amenities when deciding where to locate or expand. Access to leisure facilities, such as pools, can be a key factor in their deliberations.

Tourism growth: Pools are a natural complement to other tourism offerings – such as skiing – as they create all-weather recreation options. Indoor aquatic facilities, in particular, can help extend seasonal tourism and enhance a region’s overall appeal.

Job creation: Building and operating a swimming pool requires a diverse team, creating meaningful job opportunities – including those for youth. They can also provide a vital link for those exploring new career directions.

Setting goals and measuring outcomes

Before determining what to build or refurbish, it is essential to understand why you are doing it. Every facility should be anchored in a clearly defined purpose. This often begins with reviewing data from an existing pool. This helps at a strategic and political level, where decision-makers identify the core goals of the project or an identified need. This might be to replace an ageing and/or energy inefficient facility, to reduce overcrowding at other existing pools, to add missing programming, such as family-friendly spaces, or to introduce a new type of recreational or wellness offer in the region.

Swimming pools rarely serve only their immediate neighbourhood. Their impact – and their users – often span broader geographic areas. As such, it is essential to align any new facility with regional and national planning.

By analysing the current coverage of aquatic facilities in a given area, decision-makers can better identify gaps and avoid duplication. For instance, are there enough warm-water pools for therapeutic use? Is there a shortage of learn-to-swim facilities? Or perhaps there are already several 50-metre pools in the region? A national perspective becomes particularly important when there is demand for specialised functions, such as facilities for elite sports.

The users know best: Once the overall purpose of the project has been established, it´s crucial to involve future users – and non-users – as they play a central role in the success of the project. Users can help clarify why certain features are important and what functions are necessary to meet those needs. This feedback becomes a valuable resource for architects and operators as they translate broad goals into practical, functional design.

Engagement is most valuable in the early planning stages, when key decisions around programming and purpose are still being shaped. Later, once a preliminary concept has been developed, users should be brought back into the process to test, refine, and validate the proposed content and functionality.

To ensure this input is meaningful, it is important to set clear expectations about the purpose of their participation. The goal is not consensus, but insight. To inform decisions, not delay them. Be sure to involve a broad representation of future users – both organised and self-organised groups. Along with future local users, it is also advisable to involve operational experts and stakeholders who represent different aquatic activities, such as lifesaving organisations or aquatic federations.

Both the facility owner/operator and the architect play a crucial role in creating processes that integrate user input, while also ensuring their input is appropriately weighed according to how critical each group’s needs are to the success of the facility.

For example, if the primary goal is drowning prevention, it is essential to create an environment that builds water confidence, including warm, shallow pools for beginner experiences. Therefore, if the consultation process focuses too heavily on competitive swimmers, their needs may dominate the design – and yield a facility that fails to meet its core mission.

When setting goals, it is important to ensure they are measurable.

Social return on investment (SROI) is one framework gaining traction around the world, as it helps quantify the social, health and economic benefits of various programs and infrastructure, including pools. SROI estimates the social value created per investment dollar, using financial proxies for non-market outcomes, such as improved wellbeing, increased social cohesion, fewer drownings, or reduced injury risk.

For example, a Royal Life Saving Australia study entitled Social Health and Economic Benefits of the National Aquatic Industry found an SROI of $4.87 for every dollar invested in aquatic infrastructure and programs.

Through thoughtful goal-setting and strong project delivery, a pool project can become a cornerstone of community wellbeing – serving local needs and aspirations for many years to come.

Download the full IAKS whitepaper.

IMAGE: Pools act as gathering spaces that strengthen community bonds. (Image YMCA, Illustrative only)