Make a Splash: Natural Swimming Pools

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• Although the plant area is fairly shallow, at least part of the ­swimming area must be two meters deep. A separate children’s area can be developed within the regeneration zone.

• Natural pools use a synthetic liner to prevent leakage over time, but these liners are free of heavy metals.

• Water never has to be changed. You need only replace water that evaporates.

• Frogs will naturally take up home in the regeneration area, but fish don’t mix well with a natural pool—they soil the water and can disturb your pool’s natural balance.

• Natural predators such as water striders and dragonfly larvae will come to live in your pool and feast on the mosquitoes.

Not playing in Peoria

Unfortunately, the U.S. pool industry hasn’t been as open to experimentation. The National Spa and Pool Foundation doesn’t endorse chemical-free pools, and the American Society of Landscape Architects was hard-pressed to name a designer who’s done significant work with natural pools. “I’ve gotten a lot of inquiries from the United States,” says Michael Littlewood, a British landscape architect who helped with the Rickard family pool. “I send brochures and details, but then I never hear from them again.”

Fear is one of the biggest barriers to widespread acceptance in the United States. People worry about slimy water, bacteria, mosquitoes, and snakes. “Seeing is believing,” says landscape architect Michael Glassman, the principal of Sacramento, California-based Michael Glassman and Associates. “I think it would take a while to catch on in the United States. It would almost have to be a situation [where you have] a sample pool.” Glassman has worked on several projects that use ultraviolet light and ozonization (see “Three Ways to Green an Existing Pool,” below) to reduce, but not eliminate, chemical use. He has found that a lot of Americans aren’t comfortable with the idea of plants in the swimming pool yet and are therefore unlikely to request a natural pool.

Three ways to green an existing pool

If you already own a traditional swimming pool, the switch to a natural version is a costly venture. It requires significant renovation—if not an out-and-out demolition—of your current pool. Fortunately, there are several ways to reduce your chemical use without calling in the heavy machinery.

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