Natural swimming pools

Steven Kurutz of the New York Times writes:

Natural swimming pools (or swimming ponds, as they are called in Europe, where the concept originated 20 years ago) are self-cleaning pools that combine swimming areas and water gardens. Materials and designs vary — the pools can be lined with rubber or reinforced polyethylene, as in the case of Total Habitat’s, and may look rustic or modern — but all natural pools rely on “regeneration” zones, areas given over to aquatic plants that act as organic cleansers.

The pools have skimmers and pumps that circulate the water through the regeneration zone and draw it across a wall of rocks, loose gravel or tiles, to which friendly bacteria attach, serving as an additional biological filter. Unlike artificial ponds, which tend to be as murky with groundwater runoff and sediment from soil erosion as the natural ponds they’re modeled on, in a natural pool the water is clear enough to see through to the bottom.

The pools, which cost about the same as or slightly more than conventional ones, depending on landscaping, appeal to gardeners because of the great variety of plant life that can be grown in them, as well as to green advocates and others who don’t want to swim in chlorinated water.

Photo credit: Sandy Huffaker for The New York Times

Comments

[Scott P]

Cool. I dig that.

[gail]

You can dig one for me too.

[Carin]

Ok, now don't they have these all over the place in Ohio? It's funny, because I can't find anything online, but there have been these things in Ohio for as long as I can remember (granted, we're only going back to my college days.) All the articles I find, speak of it as a European thing. But, there are lots of these up in Northern Ohio - a state with absolutely NO natural lakes (they're all man made). I want to say they may call them something else, though.

[ken]

Although I still like hearing about going out to the cee-ment pond with Ellie Mae...

[joated]

Carin, if Ohio is anything like north-central PA, every farm/house with more than a few acres will have a pond to be used in the case of fire (no hydrants) but they are usually nothing more than catch basins for natural runoff, streams or springs. They don't have the filtration system this story is talking about. As a result they tend to get muddy and murky bottoms (unless it's a real good spring that's feeding the pond) and the water is not nearly as aesthetically pleasing unless aerated.

The ponds talked about in the story require pumps to help filtrate the water or at least pull it over the gravel. Unless these are solar powered pumps, you're talking energy and dollars to keep them clean.

[gail]

So basically they work like tropical fish aquariums!

[CraigC]

Carin, what do you mean, "We're only going back to my college days?"

[Carin]

No - these that I see are swimming things. My husband's partner told us all about them - how it's a big "trend." They are outfitted with swim platforms, etc.

Craig- be nice. I'm still (for now) under forty.

[CraigC]

Ah, the eternal 39?