Koninklijke Nederlandse Zwembond (KNZB) describes it as a “guide pigeon” for the Netherlands and beyond. De Slag should set standards for the new bathrooms to be built in the coming decades.

Not only will the new construction of the De Slag pool in Sportpark Hoornseveld be completely chlorine-free, but it will also be chlorine-free. The latter is unique, because chlorine-free public swimming pools do not yet exist in the Netherlands. In fact, it is prohibited by law.

However, Zaanstad and KNZB will not allow themselves to be dragged under the water. Gerard Sligers, Alderman for Sport, says in a municipal press release:

“The great desire is not only to give the swimming pool the dimensions of a Premier League pool, but also to be able to operate without chlorine and added salt. Given our location and our innovative and inclusive ambitions, De Slag is very well suited to this.

By ‘our’, Alderman Slegers refers to De Slag’s position in relation to the North Sea Channel. The North Sea Canal contains brackish water consisting of a mixture of salty seawater and fresh water from the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal, the IJsselmeer and the IJ. Slegers continues:

The distance between the pool and the canal is about a mile. A crossflow can be installed with few resources, so that the water in the pond remains healthy and disinfected. So the swimming pool becomes a place where our beech talents can practice in a natural environment and develop better. These desires become reality.