How a Pool Is Going to Clean New York's East River

One New York nonprofit has an interesting solution to unsafe swimming conditions in the city’s East River: put a pool in it. It’s not just any pool though, it’s a “plus-shaped, water-filtering, floating swimming pool, designed to filter the very river that it floats in.” Donned with the name + POOL, it hopes to reclaim a portion of the river for recreational use and at the same time, educate New Yorkers on the issues causing poor water quality.

While the proposal can seem a bit crazy at first, the idea is pretty simple. Instead of trying to clean the river all at once, + POOL hopes to do it little by little. If completed according to plan, + POOL will be installed by 2025 and cleaning more than 600,000 gallons of river water every day. This quirky new pool would allow locals to safely swim in the river for the first time in decades.

Of course, it’s not ready yet, but if you were to visit today, there’s still something to see. Right now, from October 3 to January 3 you can see the + POOL Light public art installation. As you might image, this installation is a plus-shaped light, but it’s more than that too. The 50 x 50 foot light was designed to visualize the condition of the water by emitting different colors. When the water is safe, the light shines teal, but it changes to pink when pollution levels rise above swimming safety standards.

What are your thoughts on this interesting project? Would you swim in a pool like this if you had the chance? Thankfully, here in Phoenix, we live in an area where many people have enough space to build a pool of their own if they want to. If you or someone you know is interested in beginning a pool project of their own, reach out for a free, in-home estimate by scheduling an appointment today. We would love to help you build a pool you’ll love from start to finish. And if you want, we can even make it plus-shaped too!