Water park also wants to be green

The Water Park in Tarnowskie Góry has been in operation since 2001. It is now the largest sports complex in the district and one of the largest in the province. Our customers, mainly residents of the district, expect the highest quality of service, new attractions and constant improvements to our offerings. This does not apply only to the swimming pool, but also to the Sports Hall, gym and climbing wall. We keep trying to respond to this demand to the best of our ability. At the same time, we are looking for economical, energetically beneficial and environment-friendly solutions. We are eager to learn from best practices and solutions that have worked in other similar facilities.

The cogeneration installations involved in the project have been performing well for years at other facilities such as the Water Park in Wrocław, which is one of the most technologically advanced facilities of this type in Poland. Similar solutions have also been applied in Tychy. Because of possibilities and potential of this type of installation as well as economic and environmental reasons, we decided to apply for support from EU Funds. The project enabled a comprehensive upgrade of the energy production system. To understand what the project was all about, one must first explain what cogeneration itself is. Simply put, it's a combined heat and power production, whereby a single combustion process, such as gas, produces both electricity and heat.

We started with the expansion of the boiler room. We then installed a cogeneration source, gas-water reserve-peak water boilers, and a heat accumulator. We have brought in a gas pipeline, built a section of the district heating network bringing heat from the sources to the hub, and transferred electrical power from the CHP units to the main switchboard. At present, everything is supervised by the advanced automation, control and steering system, along with a monitoring system for equipment operation with the possibility of remote control from the control room.

The investment made it possible to produce part of the electricity and heat on-site at the facility, which has reduced transmission losses and increased efficiency as well as contributed to a reduction in emissions.

I don’t remember exactly how old I was when I first went to the pool. I feel like this sport has been with me forever, almost every step of the way. I fell in love with this discipline because of my mum. She was the first to teach me how to swim before I even started my professional lessons. Later, my swimming development was supervised by the instructors. I immediately loved this sport, and the coaches soon saw my potential. I ended up in a more advanced group, and that’s basically how my sporting adventure began. It soon resulted in a number of medals at the Polish championships and an eighth position at the European Junior Championships, held this June in Portugal. At the moment, I am preparing for the next competition, and my goal is to develop and improve my technique.

My entire swimming career to date has been closely connected with the Water Park in Tarnowskie Góry. The place was chosen by my parents, obviously because of the short distance from home. At the moment, however, I wouldn’t swap the club for any other. The coaches are fantastic, just like the whole group I train with. The advantage of the local park is also its complex training infrastructure. I have access to a large pool and a second, smaller pool, where I can improve specific elements of my technique. I am also happy to use the gym and wellness. In our Water Park I have everything I need.

I know that the facility owes many of these things to European Funds. You can read it on the signs posted in several places in the Water Park. Recently, I have learned that a boiler plant with modern machinery was built here. I know that the production of hot water and electricity in the facility is much cheaper now. This saves money in these difficult times and allows the Water Park to continue operating despite rising energy costs. At the same time, the whole system is greener than the previous one, and this is important as well. We all need to take care of air quality. I am glad that the place where I spend so much time sets a good example.