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Almost 20 years ago I met a local resident who was interested in building a pond that one could swim in. She just happened to be an organic farmer at a time when most people had never even heard of the term “organic”. I remember her opening remarks like they were yesterday. “You know Doug, in a traditional swimming pool you put in chemicals to kill every living thing and then having accomplish that, you jump in, does that make sense to you?” I stared at her for a little while contemplating what I had just heard and realized I would never look at swimming pools the same way again.

In the organic world we live in today, there is an increasing trend to examine just what my customer was concerned with those many years ago. The swimming pond is surely the answer for anyone wishing to return to a more natural way of living. Construction techniques and state-of-the-art filtration strategies, have merged at the perfect time making the dream of an organic, holistic, backyard oasis very attainable.

Perhaps the most important component is the filtration strategy. The genius of the upwelling, wetland filter is that it very accurately mimics the actual process occurring in the natural world. Water flows up through a strata of stones of varying sizes. This creates the perfect environment for nitrifying bacteria to establish a home. These beneficial bacteria’s are an essential component in the filter process. Pond water then swirls around and among a wonderful assortment of aquatic plant species. They absorb an incredible amount of excess nutrients, thereby prohibiting the return of this nutrient to the pond, which could impact water quality. The final attribute of the wetland is its ability to settle out suspended particulate. An in-line pumping system is used to circulate water through the system and because of it’s layered stone make up it drastically slows down the waters flow rate. This traps sediment in the stone and plants absorb this wonderful nutrient as well. If one has ever had the opportunity to really study a delta or marshland at the confluence of a river to a lake, then the amazing efficiency of nature is in full view. The genius of the upwelling wetland filter system is of course the fact that it works with mother nature, not against her. And this is essentially the ultimate reason that these types of natural swimming ponds enjoy crystal-clear water very much like that found in any pristine, northern lake.

Lastly, the use of large rock and sculptural wood treatments, completes this one-of-a-kind swimming area. Due to the fact that this type of pond can be as much as 5 to 6 feet deep, the size of boulder used in vertical walls is a key element in the overall success of the project. These large rocks provide stability and character which cannot be duplicated, lending to the one-of-a-kind nature of each pond. The sight of small children hopping from one to the other around the perimeter harkens back to a simpler time when we were all a lot younger.

Perhaps the most significant advantage of the swimming pond maybe it’s four season nature. In spring and fall when the swimming season is either on the way or at its completion, this water feature is still “working away”, providing beauty, relaxation and intrigue. Of course in the winter, mother nature will surely provide all the necessary temperatures to ensure perfect conditions for the most wonderful skating rink imaginable.

As they say “the times they are a changing”. Everything once thought to be impossible is now at our fingertips. The swimming pond…everything that was once old is now new.