We've owned a home with a plaster pool for nearly 9 years, feel like a pro around the pool and equipment at this stage. We're purchasing a second home in a rural are in Northern Illinois and my wife is set on a natural pool. I have zero experience in this area and was wondering if anyone out there has built one of these?
Any Natural Pool Owners Out There?
- Thread starter Geebot
- Start date
Hey Gee and Welcome!!
I haven't seen any here. I clipped this from a natural pool builder website :
If you’re a fan of nature, the chances are that you’d prefer natural pools over traditional ones. Natural swimming pools are also referred to as natural ponds. This is because they are much like ponds and even pack that pond-like greenish/brownish tint.
Chances are your wife wants something fancier that would be 10X what a 'natural pool' would cost.
I haven't seen any here. I clipped this from a natural pool builder website :
If you’re a fan of nature, the chances are that you’d prefer natural pools over traditional ones. Natural swimming pools are also referred to as natural ponds. This is because they are much like ponds and even pack that pond-like greenish/brownish tint.
Chances are your wife wants something fancier that would be 10X what a 'natural pool' would cost.
- May 3, 2014
- 62,705
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
This forum is for residential pool owners that follow the TFP method of pool care.
I suggest you venture out and find a forum for natural ponds.
Take care.
I suggest you venture out and find a forum for natural ponds.
Take care.
- May 23, 2015
- 25,708
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
NSP’s are a completely different beast than residential swimming pools. In fact, @mknauss is right in describing them as “ponds” not pools. They rely entirely on biological filtration to control algae and bacteria similar to how a biofilter in a fish tank controls algae growth. They can also be a lot more physical work as brushing and scrapping the EPDM rubber liner is important in loosening up any algae that might form. The biological filter area can be almost as large as the pool surface area itself and so you really need to work with a qualified builder to get not only the proper layout but also the right type of flora (trees, plants and shrubs ) in the biofilter area. Otherwise the results will be a backyard swamp and not an NSP.
We had a 5000 gallon Koi pond that had a waterfall and creek bed. It was a combo watergarden and Koi pond. Natural,....? If you count two aerators, UV lights and two water pumps, then you might call it natural. It was a huge amount of work and now I am doing what I should have been doing in the first place.
I did have a UPS driver stop by last week and wanted to look at our pool. He said his family just built one and they put sand in the bottom on top of the pebble finish. He was talking about how much work that was to keep clean.
Unless you are wanting fish, personally I'd stay away from the 'natural' pool idea.
Reading your post brought back all the memories of cleaning out the fish sludge from the bottom drains, rinsing off the skimmer filters, cleaning out the pump filters, etc. That's why we tore it out and are putting in a swimming pool.
darkrider
Well-known member
- Jun 14, 2021
- 289
- Pool Size
- 27000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Jandy Aquapure 1400
I've seen several studies on this, and most show that biobased filters can do a great job with algae. However, where they are lacking is pathogen removal. The biofilters can and do provide some sanitation. However, they do not work quickly enough to effectively sanitize, and their performance goes down substantially with bather load. Here is a link to a study of one of Canada's larger natural pools, Borden Park, in Edmonton: Pathogen performance testing of a natural swimming pool using a cocktail of microbiological surrogates and QMRA-derived management goals | Journal of Water and Health | IWA Publishing. This is a quote from their summation:
"Overall, the individual treatment barriers performed as intended (Table 2); however, due to the constant dilution of treated waters entering the pool post-treatment, it was demonstrated that safe levels (based on the key reference pathogen, Norovirus) could not be attained at the 50th, 75th, or 95th percentile measurements of risk within 24 h. Further, our modelling found that treatment barrier log-reduction values in excess of ∼1.3 (see Supplementary Figure S1) provided little improvement on the amount of time required to treat the NSP waters to meet the 35 illnesses per 1,000 bathers benchmark. To mitigate health risks, the following steps were recommended: (1) strict preventative measures be taken by ensuring bathers understand the necessity for showering with soap prior to entering the pool, (2) upon entry, bathers asked to not enter the pool if they have been ill within a 2-week period, and/or (3) the maximum number of bathers allowed per day be reduced to <45 to maintain an acceptable level of risk."
Can natural swimming pools be safe? I think the answer is Yes, potentially. However, I think there are just too many caveats . For a smaller sized pond/residential application, you would want some combination of high replacement with fresh water, low bather load, and longish wait times between swimming sessions. Personally, I wouldn't be willing to make those sacrifices.
"Overall, the individual treatment barriers performed as intended (Table 2); however, due to the constant dilution of treated waters entering the pool post-treatment, it was demonstrated that safe levels (based on the key reference pathogen, Norovirus) could not be attained at the 50th, 75th, or 95th percentile measurements of risk within 24 h. Further, our modelling found that treatment barrier log-reduction values in excess of ∼1.3 (see Supplementary Figure S1) provided little improvement on the amount of time required to treat the NSP waters to meet the 35 illnesses per 1,000 bathers benchmark. To mitigate health risks, the following steps were recommended: (1) strict preventative measures be taken by ensuring bathers understand the necessity for showering with soap prior to entering the pool, (2) upon entry, bathers asked to not enter the pool if they have been ill within a 2-week period, and/or (3) the maximum number of bathers allowed per day be reduced to <45 to maintain an acceptable level of risk."
Can natural swimming pools be safe? I think the answer is Yes, potentially. However, I think there are just too many caveats . For a smaller sized pond/residential application, you would want some combination of high replacement with fresh water, low bather load, and longish wait times between swimming sessions. Personally, I wouldn't be willing to make those sacrifices.