In Europe and North America, this is a very widespread concept, with many natural swimming pools in countries such as France, Germany, Portugal, and Canada, both public and private. However, natural swimming pools are a very new concept in Spain, and there is a lot of confusion surrounding the topic.
What is a natural pool or a natural purification system?
Natural swimming pools, also known as biopools or ecological pools, do not use chemicals to purify water, but rather do so naturally through plants and aggregates.
In Europe and North America, it is a well-known concept, with many natural pools, both public and private, in countries such as France, Germany, Portugal, and Canada. In Spain, however, natural pools are relatively new, and there is a lot of confusion about the topic.
The first thing to know is that not using chlorine does not make a pool a biopool. For example, saltwater chlorination pools are not natural pools, nor are silver ion pools or pools that use ultraviolet filters.
According to the definition given by the Association of Naturalized Bathing Waters, a natural pool excludes all elements that destroy the biodiversity of the water, including ultraviolet filters, ultrasound, silver and copper ions, and of course, saltwater chlorination, which is still chlorine used to kill algae and microorganisms in the pool.
In natural pools, the ecosystem is used to purify the water and eliminate all pathogenic elements that could cause harm.
Types of natural pools
Different types of natural pools can be classified according to the level of technology they have. There are pools without any technology, where no pump is needed. Simply, plants and filtering systems are strategically placed in a waterproof basin or surface. The wind and terrain conditions will move the water, and it will function as a natural pool that works without any electricity.
From there, there is a whole range of possibilities for technology in natural pools, where all types of filters can be used, such as sieve filters, phosphate reactors, cyclonic filtering systems, etc.
The decision to create a completely technified pool or one with almost nothing depends mainly on the climate and the type of water. If the water is of good quality, such as the water in Alicante, which is very good for natural pools despite being very calcareous, we can opt for low-tech systems or just a pump. In places where the water has a high amount of nutrients and phosphates, a series of filters must be implemented to guarantee the health and transparency of the water. There may be situations where we need to add detergent.
