Natural Swimming Ponds
Natural Swimming Ponds
Natural swimming ponds are a fantastic way of combining luxury and nature. There is nothing like slipping into your natural swimming pond on a warm sunny day. Cool off and take a few moments to wind-down. Whilst relaxing in your pool, you will watch the wildlife dance around you. Edged with aquatic plants and season-long colour, dragonflies, butterflies and bees being your in-pool entertainment. Using a combination of natures’ intelligence and modern technology. Swim ponds are fast becoming the first choice for ‘at home’ swimming facilities. Unlike a traditional swimming pool, swim ponds keep giving all year round.
A swimming pond in your garden
In the spring, the new shoots of plant life clearly indicate that the winter is now behind us; your natural pond becomes a life source for birds and wildlife. The pond becomes the garden’s central focal point in summer. With its dazzling display of colour and tranquillity, an ideal place for morning tea, afternoon family fun, or evening entertainment. In autumn, the changing colours can be as stunning and captivating as the spring and summer flowers, still providing essential water-dependent wildlife services. On Indian-summer evenings, as the sun starts to set, the view can be stunning with a glass of wine in hand. Winter days can still provide spectacular scenes in and around your natural pool when the plant life is a mere shadow of its former glory; on frosty mornings, the now brown stems and newly spun spider webs sparkle in the winter sunlight.
Natural swimming ponds history
Allowing nature to do all the filtering is thought to be a new idea; it’s not; early examples of the Hampstead Heath natural swimming ponds can be seen on the Hampstead Heath Pond Project Website.
They understood that mother nature could be used to create clean swimming water. This fast became the new fashion, and in 1875 the Victorians had built a new indoor swimming pond that contained filtered water from the river themes as seen in an article by The Guardian newspaper.
Swimming in chemical-free ponds
Of course, today, we have filter technology that was never available back then, but can a swimming pond still be a swimming pond without natures help? No, we don’t think so. The benefits that flora and fauna bring to the table are still critical; why?
A standard chemical swimming pool uses chlorine to kill off micro-organisms such as phytoplankton and bacteria, making green, unhealthy water. Natural swimming ponds must have a regeneration zone that uses microorganisms, working together in harmony with microscopic life-forms; this is the basic principle of a swimming pond filtration. Using the natural purifying properties of plants and microorganisms sustains clean, clear and healthy water. Whatever the season, Aquamaintenance can help you achieve your very own swimming haven to share and support the wildlife around you.
Aquamaintenance & Services Limited will try and beat any like for like quote.
Health benefits of swimming in Chlorine-free ponds
Many people are now finding excellent health benefits from swimming in crystal clear water, without chemicals that aggravate asthma and skin conditions. We’ve all experienced the familiar side effects of swimming in chemically loaded water, sore eyes, skin problems, and the smell that lingers long after your shower. You may already have converted to organic, paraben-free, non-toxic alternatives to conventional shampoos, skincare and health products, either for preventative reasons or to cure ongoing conditions such as eczema.
Why is chlorine used in swimming water?
Chlorine is used for two reasons, the first kill bacteria on impact and the second kills bacteria brought into the pool by new bathers. In public swimming spaces, it is not practical to drain and clean each time a new bather wants to use the pool. Skin is the largest of all our bodies organs; we rarely consider the consequences of extended contact with chlorine, algicides and other chemicals.
What are the dangers of swimming in chlorine?
The main hazard of chlorine use is the maintenance and the responsibility of the person to add the chemicals into the pool in the proper doses regularly. If under-dosed, bacteria can bloom to dangerous levels; if overdosed, chlorine can cause overpowering smells, sore throats and stinging eyes.
Some studies suggest that children that regularly swim in chlorinated water are more likely to develop asthma. When chemical levels are too high and releasing potent fumes, sweat, skin and other organic compounds react, irritating the respiratory system.
What if we can swim in chemical-free swim ponds?
Swimming is one of the most beneficial forms of low impact exercise. We can have all the benefits of swimming like improved circulation, burning calories and reducing stress, without the damaging effect of swimming in chemicals. But it goes beyond just exercise; the biodiversity it can bring to your garden is unlimited, with the added enjoyment of swimming around butterflies and dragonflies.
More than just a swimming pond
Watching wildlife is mesmerising; the whole family can enjoy the space, in or out the water. Sitting by the pond, soothes stresses and anxieties at the end of the day. It can be an educational space for children to learn about flora and fauna central to our ecology.
Is a swimming pond just a pond?
NO, it is not! A swimming pond is a purpose-built space that combines modern and traditional methods to keep a separate area, called ‘The Swim Zone’, as clear, clean and healthy water. Friends, family, even the dog can enjoy swimming in a clear area that doesn’t include planting. A natural swimming pond must have a ‘Regeneration Zone’, a swimming pond without a separate swim zone and regeneration zone is just…..a pond!
How does the Regeneration Zone in a swimming pond work?
The regeneration zone is the part where nature is in control. A shallower area divided from the swim zone backfilled with gravel, the plants’ roots form a tight lattice that traps fine particles, and the plants, without soil, take all the nutrients they need directly from the water.
Wildlife will naturally be attracted to this area for its plant life, stopping pest issues like mosquitoes laying their larvae into the water.
Mosquitoes aren’t a problem if you circulate and aerate the water using a water pump, combining modern technology with self-flushing filtration for that perfect gin-clear water.
What is the swim zone in a swimming pond?
Divided by retaining walls under the waterline, the swim zone is the part just for you – where you can dive, swim in lengths, underwater exploring, or float your cares away on a lilo with a cocktail in hand. Without these essential elements, your swim pond will quickly become an unattractive green mess.
What size does a swimming pond have to be?
There are no defined rules about the overall size of a swimming pond. However, there must be approximately 50% regeneration zone versus the size of the swim zone.
Swimming pond maintenance
An average conventional swimming pool holds around 15,000 – 20,000 gallons of water, and many people drain and clean them annually. Owners of swimming pools are draining away at least 15,000 gallons of contaminated water. What effect is chlorine and other algae prohibitors having on our ecosystems? Most swimming pool owners have no idea.
Natural swimming pools don’t need draining. In the winter months, they freeze, and plant life will naturally die back and regenerate again in spring. Swimming ponds can also become home to a host of water-dependent wildlife, even endangered water species, further improving the pond’s filtering.
