What Are Natural Pools & How Can You Get One?

Natural pools offer many more benefits than cement ones. Read on to learn more!

By Diane Small

When the temperatures rise, many of us wish we had a pool to dive into. But as refreshing as the traditional backyard swimming pool may be, they are also usually quite polluting. And that’s for several reasons.

First, you need to dig up quite a lot of land for them, and fill that in with cement. That means the loss of many plants, insects and soil bacteria. Secondly, cement isn’t the most eco friendly material, as it doesn’t biodegrade. Thirdly, they normally use harsh cleaning chemicals which are difficult to dispose of safely, and which can also harm skin.

Not only that, but the same chemicals can harm pets or wildlife if they drink the pool water. And as most swimmers know, the chlorine used in pools can also cause dry and discoloured hair, red eyes and skin rashes.

Even worse, trihalomethane gas, which is often used in pools, is a known carcinogen, and chlorine, omnipresent in public pools, has been associated with bladder cancer, asthma, and birth defects.

Suddenly, swimming doesn’t seem like such a fun, healthy activity!

But worry not: natural pools are the perfect alternative. These fantastic pools are stunning all year round. During the winter they can freeze without problems. And in the warmer seasons, they are a verdant and beautiful part of the garden landscape. They can even be constructed to look like small lakes and ponds rather than a huge, tiled hole dug out of the earth.

Natural Pools

What Is A Natural Pool, Exactly?

A natural pool is a small body of water that uses plants for filtration. Unlike a traditionally rectangular, chlorine-filled swimming pool, a natural pool is often designed to imitate pools, ponds, or other bodies of water in the wild. They can have irregular, organic shapes. And they look particularly beautiful with rocks, waterfalls, and boulders.

Unlike most garden swimming pools, natural swimming pools or ponds (NSPs) are filtered organically rather than by chemicals. Another pool called a regeneration zone is built nearby.

This is where the water enters either a gravel filter or a constructed wetlands made of plants that clean the water. It reflects the process by which aquatic plants clean ponds in nature and results in a pool no less clean than one with chemically filtered water.

The natural pool and its regeneration zone actually build a small ecosystem that changes over time. Animals or insects are often attracted to the zone. But not the pool, thankfully—it doesn’t contain the environment they’re looking for.

What Are Natural Pools & How Can You Get One?

Keeping Your Natural Pool Clean

Wondering how to keep these clean? Luckily, there are a variety of different filtration options for these pools. In general, there are two separate water circulation systems for optimum water quality and clarity.

The primary system uses a low energy submersed pump that runs 24 hours a day all year round. It draws water down through fine grade chemically inert filter grit. There’s also a carefully selected mix of plant species that trap sediment, break down organic materials and remove nutrients from the water. This water is then filtered through a specially developed phosphate binding media and returned to the pool.

The second filtration system runs during the day and is connected to a self cleaning, self adjusting skimmer that takes all the surface water over a 8 hour period. It clears any surface debris such as leaves to reduce the amount of wind-blown stuff reaching the pool. It also cuts down on cleaning.

These two systems working together provide some of the most reliable and efficient filtration available for natural swimming pools. Still unsure? You could contract a Houston swimming pool contractor to learn more.

What Are Natural Pools & How Can You Get One?

Living Pool or Natural Pool?

If you want to go even more natural than that, there is also a variety of natural pools that are referred to as Living Pools.

These are slightly different. These are  based on the same concept of Natural Swimming Pools, but function without the plants. Instead, they work by passing the water through a Phostec Ultra filter and biological filter medium. These clean and clarify the water, resulting in clean clear water all year round.

For both types of pools, there’s another way to purify water safely: oxygenator technology.

This is a technology which generates four powerful natural disinfecting oxidisers from the water:

Copper ionisation is then combined with the ‘oxygenator’ technology to guard against algae buildup. A high oxygen content in water means viruses, bacteria, yeast, fungi and protozoa are neutralised to the point where the pool water is actually fit to drink.

Natural Pools

Downsides

Ok, so they’re gorgeous and easy to clean. But what are the downsides of living and natural pools?

  • Building a natural pool can get quite expensive. Remember, a natural pool requires an entirely discrete pool right by it for filtration.
  • Because they’re more unusual than traditional pools, it may also be difficult to find a good contractor to build one. For an NSP that looks good and will last, hire a pool and pond builder who specialises in this kind of environment and who can show you pools they have designed and built.
  • Over the long run, they are cheaper than a traditional pool due to their lower maintenance costs. But if you think selling the property within a few years is a possibility, then you risk spending more on your natural pool than you would have on a traditional one.
  • The regeneration zone means these require more land to build. The zone should generally be as big as the pool itself.
  • The organic water can look ‘dirty’, depending on the presence of algae. And it’s impossible to completely remove sediment and some life from the pool. Though the water is perfectly safe to swim in, your natural pool may not look as nice as a traditional blue water pool.

Despite the downsides, there can be little doubt that natural and living pools are worth the investment. They’re a rare feature that will bring years of pleasure to their owners, and they’re much gentler on the environment, too.

For more info, please click here  or here.

Images: Naturalswimmingpools.com and Natural-swimmingpools.co.uk

Diane Small
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