In good news for New York city swimming enthusiasts, summer 2024 will see, a 2,000-square-foot (186 m2) swimming pool installed somewhere among the city’s waters.
Cooling off time
While the exact spot remains to be decided, the new leisure infrastructure will be in a river or bay surrounding the city. These are currently out-of-bounds to swimmers, so by 2025, the development proposes to give New Yorkers the chance to cool off safely in their urban waters in a way already available to swimmers in other major cities around the world, such as London and Amsterdam.
Swimming in the city’s waters used to be possible around the turn of the last century, thanks to 15 floating “river pools” in the Hudson and the East River. But as the rivers became environmentally unsuitable for swimming, the floating baths were closed and it was no longer possible to swim hygienically or safely by the 1920s.
+POOL and patented filtration
The proposed system is an experimental solution funded through an award of $16 million in state and city money to an organization called “+POOL” which has a remit to create what will be a technological first in the United States, but an age-old solution.
A patented filtration system will deal with more than 1,000,000 gallons of raw river water per day, using no chemicals or additives, but instead acting like a giant strainer. Environmental Protection Agency water quality software will be employed to guarantee the pool water is maintained at a recognised microbiological standard for swimming.
“Co-exist with nature”
“New York’s waterways are currently out of bounds for those who could benefit most from them,” according to the managing director of Friends of + POOL Kara Meyer, who argues “+ POOL reclaims New York’s natural resources by opening our waters. It restores the utility of our waterways. It gives everyone the ability to enjoy the water. It enables people to care for and coexist with nature.”
With a cross-shaped design, the facility will offer users the chance to take advantage of four pools in one: a kid’s pool, lap pool, so-called “lounge” pool and sports pool. The design can be reconfigured with a combination of sections to become an Olympic-length pool as needed.
Ironically, thanks to huge strides forward in wastewater handling and sewage treatment, New York Harbor is, claim its government, the most hygienic it’s been for 100 years.
