Overview
ISO/PAS 20708:2023 establishes minimum requirements for artificial open water sites used in recreational scuba diving training. This specification applies to man-made aquatic environments-including large aquariums or purpose-built water bodies-that function as open water training venues for recreational divers. Developed by ISO/TC 228, this standard aligns with existing ISO recreational diving training program standards and aims to promote safety, consistency, and quality in artificial open water dive site design and operations.
Artificial open water sites provide an alternative to natural environments such as seas, lakes, or rivers-especially valuable in regions lacking suitable natural sites. With the rise of large-scale, environmentally controlled diving venues, ISO/PAS 20708:2023 offers guidance to ensure these locations meet critical criteria to simulate natural open water diving conditions effectively.
Key Topics
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Structural requirements: Artificial open water sites must have a minimum water volume of 10 million liters, a surface area of at least 300 m², and contain depths of at least 10 meters. The bottom topography should feature three distinct depth levels with diverse characteristics, or a continuously shelving bottom design meeting these criteria.
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Environmental factors: Sites should include at least three of the following characteristics to mimic natural diving environments:
- Presence of aquatic life typical to natural open water.
- At least 33% surface area exposed to outdoor elements.
- Areas with depths of 30 meters or more.
- Zones with currents of at least 0.25 m/s.
- Surface areas experiencing waves or swell over 0.3 meters.
- Water temperatures below 15 °C.
- Natural bottom compositions like sand, silt, or benthic life.
- Varied underwater structures resembling natural dive features (e.g., rocks, wrecks).
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Training program applications: While artificial sites can be used for foundational recreational diving training levels (up to autonomous diver level), advanced skills involving navigation, search techniques, and instructor evaluations require natural open water environments. This ensures divers experience real-world environmental variability and conditions during higher-level training.
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Student acknowledgement: Training providers must have students sign an agreement acknowledging that further training is necessary before diving in natural open water sites with different environmental conditions or using significantly different equipment.
Applications
ISO/PAS 20708:2023 is intended for:
- Diving training centers seeking to establish or certify artificial open water training sites.
- Operators of large artificial diving venues such as quarry lakes, diving aquariums, or purpose-built training lakes.
- Dive instructors and training agencies implementing standardized recreational scuba diving programs aligned with ISO/TC 228 requirements.
- Safety and quality assurance professionals ensuring artificial sites meet internationally recognized safety and environmental conditions standards.
- Tourism and recreational service providers enhancing diving infrastructure where natural diving sites are inaccessible or unsuitable for training.
This standard helps improve diver safety by ensuring artificial open water sites provide adequate volume, depth variation, environmental factors, and realistic dive conditions needed for effective training. It also supports the growth of recreational diving economies by validating man-made dive environments as suitable substitutes or complements to natural open water sites.
Related Standards
ISO/PAS 20708:2023 is directly related to other key ISO standards for recreational diving training, including:
Together, these documents provide a comprehensive framework for scuba diver education, from basic skills to instructor certification, ensuring consistency and safety across both artificial and natural open water environments.
Keywords: recreational diving standards, artificial open water sites, scuba diving training, ISO 20708, diving safety, dive site requirements, aquatic training environments, recreational scuba, diving training programs, open water diving certification.