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Future Home: Convert your pool to a natural system
FUTURE HOME
Convert your pool to a natural system
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We sat down with Andy Jamieson of Leaf and Stone about what it takes to convert a conventional pool to a natural system.
Asks Andy Jamieson founder of Leaf and Stone, a company that designs, builds and maintains natural swimming pools and swim ponds.
According to Jamieson, a natural swimming pool is a man-made pool that uses natural means (plants and microbes) to keep the water clean. “Conventionally, pools are kept clean with the use of chlorine (or salt - which is essentially chlorine),” he says, explaining how with a chlorinated pool time and money are constantly applied to poison life and to stem the force of nature instead of letting it work for you.
“If properly designed, natural pools can achieve the same water clarity as conventional pools. They are not swampy ponds but highly technical mini ecosystems that harness the power of nature to biologically keep algae at bay,” Jamieson says.
“Swimming should be an experience of invigoration,” he adds. “One wants to feel renewed and revitalised, drinking in the water as we dive, inhaling the scent of mountain dew and life. Anyone who has swum in a natural pool can attest to this tangible difference.”
So how does it work?
Jamieson explains: A natural pool uses a wetland to keep the water clean. Just as in nature, water is filtered through soil and plants where a host of microbiota and chemical processes remove nutrients and pathogens. Just like in a mountain stream.
The pool is divided into 2 zones, the swimming zone, and the regeneration zone. The regeneration zone is the wetland where filtration takes place.
In practice, the ‘soil’ is often gravel, or other forms of growing medium (see floating wetlands) but the principle is the same. It is essentially all the plants & beneficial bacteria living in the soil/gravel and plant roots that remove nutrients from the water and without nutrients algae cannot grow. This is what we call biological filtration. In a chlorinated pool, nutrients are never removed, they just keep accumulating which is why you need more and more chlorine over time to keep the water clear.
Natural Pools can take any shape or form. They can be rectangular and formal or they can be organic in shape like a swimming pond. The best of all is that you can convert and existing conventional pool to a natural system.
Converting an existing conventional pool
When converting an existing chlorine pool to a natural pool one has two main choices: You can either create cost-effective floating wetland islands inside the pool or construct permanent wetlands inside and/or outside the pool. The latter involves emptying the pool and undergoing construction and re-plumbing.
There are numerous pros and cons to each approach, the main factor being cost. “When it comes to maintenance it really depends on how it is designed and this indeed depends on the budget,” Jamieson says. According to him, all natural pools will need annual pruning of the plants. Aside from that, the only maintenance required is the removal of debris.
There is no constant measuring of PH, adjusting with chemicals, adding chlorine, or adding acid. Natural pools will find their own balance and just do their thing.
“The only real downside is that the biofilm can make steps and surfaces slightly slippery. There are ways to make this impact minimal and safe but ultimately one has to embrace certain elements of nature in a natural pool,” Jamieson says.
Costs
While a natural pool will generally be 1.5x the cost of a conventional pool to build from scratch (as you have to create the wetland area), the running costs are far less than a conventional pool. The energy consumption is about 30% less (depending on the design of the pool) and there is of course no need for chlorine or other chemicals as well.
For more information on natural pools, bespoke design, organic shapes and landscaping in the form of boulders, stone cladding get in touch with Jamieson.
Website: www.leafandstone.co.za
