Natural Swimming Pool

East of the Hudson River, in Columbia County, NY, we were given a unique opportunity in 2017 to create another unique natural swimming pool installation!  This client contacted us and was interested in designing and installing a naturally filtered swimming pool at their upstate cabin.  We provided turnkey services to our client for this project starting with conceptual design, budgeting, and construction permitting.  Due to the site's proximity to a designated wetland, this project required not only a building permit but also an environmental permit indicating minimal impact on the site and the adjacent environment.  After acquiring the permits for the client, we sourced all the material and began on site work.

This pool was constructed by sculpting the main basin of the pool from the earth, as if digging a pond, and then lining it with an EPDM rubber liner.  The regeneration zones are constructed similarly, consist of varying layers of different filtration media, and are planted with aquatic plants, which help to biologically filter and clean the water naturally.  In addition there is also mechanical filtration equipment that assists with the process as well.

The location of this property provided an ideal backdrop for a natural swimming pool (NSP), allowing the feature to aesthetically blend into its surroundings.  This pool is a Type 3 NSP meaning that the regeneration zones and filtration are directly adjacent to the swimming area.  This design features a dock at the deep end for lounging and a large stone slab step entrance in the shallow end.  There are boulder outcroppings around the pool that can be used for sitting and jumping into the deeper areas.  We outfitted this NSP with a heater so the clients can enjoy their pool during some of the cooler temperatures in upstate New York.  Native plantings were interwoven into the perimeter landscaping of the pool in order to give a more natural transition from the pool's aquatic plantings to the surrounding area.

Due to the natural filtration, this pool is inherently eco-friendly and does not require the chemicals that a traditionally filtered pool would.  The natural filtration system helps enhance the organic feel of the pool and integration into the landscape so much that at first glance one may think it is merely a natural swimming pond.

Being involved with the concept, design, construction, and initial maintenance of this natural swimming pool has been a great experience and made this project a highlight of our year.  Keep looking to our website to see more natural swimming pool projects as they finish up in the coming years!

Project: Natural Swimming Pool

NSP Contractor: PondWorks

Designer: PondWorks