“My kids think America is swimming pools on the roof, screening rooms, and hot dogs. They love it here.”

Damian Lewis, Actor

Pros and Cons of Natural Swimming Pools

Natural swimming pools have become increasingly popular over the past years.

They can be a great alternative to conventional swimming pools.

Apart from the many advantages of natural swimming pools, there are also some downsides to those natural ponds.

In this article, the pros and cons of natural swimming pools are discussed.

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Advantages of Natural Swimming Pools

1. Natural swimming pools can help you to relax
2. Can help you to connect to your inner self
3. You can use your creativity
4. Custom-made pool according to your own preferences
5. You can build the natural pond by yourself
6. Natural pools can look quite impressive
7. Your friends will envy you
8. You will have a short vacation opportunity in your garden
9. Natural ponds can provide a habitat for the local wildlife
10. Less chemicals are used compared to conventional pools
11. Natural ponds are suitable for most climate zones
12. Natural materials are used for construction
13. Back to the roots
14. Natural ponds need less energy
15. Low maintenance costs
16. Can improve your overall health level

Natural swimming pools can help you to relax

One key advantage of natural swimming pools is that they can be a great place to relax from your stressful daily life.

Many people in our nowadays society are quite busy.

They often work in demanding jobs and have to take care of their family at the same time.

Quite often, they also have many private appointments and all of those things can cause significant levels of stress.

Hence, if you are one of those people who are stressed quite often, getting a natural swimming pond can be a great way to lower your stress level and to improve your overall quality of life since you can relax and unplug from your stressful life by just going into your garden.

Can help you to connect to your inner self

It may sound kind of spiritual, but natural swimming ponds will also help you to connect with your inner self.

It will give you a high level of peace when you look at your natural pond.

In those moments, you can really ask yourself how your future should look like and if you are on your path and purpose or if it might be time to make a change.

Consequently, natural swimming ponds can also be considered as an investment in your future since you can spend plenty of time there and really figure out what you want in life, without anyone or anything disturbing you.

You can use your creativity

You will have an almost unlimited amount of freedom regarding how your natural pond should look like.

Especially if you have a big property, you will have numerous different design options from which you can choose and plan your own swimming pool can really be challenging, but it can also significantly improve your level of creativity.

In the end, you will feel that you really contributed to the end-result and chances are that you will also be quite proud of your natural swimming pond once all the work is done.

Custom-made pool according to your own preferences

In general, if you decide to go for a natural swimming pond, you can also choose all the materials, the shape, the plants and everything else according to your own personal preferences.

If you don’t like some components after a certain period of time anymore, you can also replace those components with other materials or shapes.

Hence, the possibilities regarding the look of your natural pool are unlimited and you can really make your pool unique and custom-made.

You can build the natural pond by yourself

If you are technically skilled, you will also be able to do all the work to build a natural swimming pool by yourself.

Sure, this would require plenty of time and you will also make mistakes from time to time.

However, you could save significant amounts of money by building the pond by yourself.

Apart from the monetary savings, you can also gain plenty of experience and if you are really passionate in this field, chances are that you might even turn your hobby into a serious business and construct natural ponds for other people in your neighborhood.

Natural pools can look quite impressive

If you have never seen a natural swimming pond before, you should definitely check out the concept.

When I first saw a natural pond, I was quite impressed and I wanted to have one sooner or later.

In my opinion, natural ponds are much more interesting compared to conventional pools since they are much more aligned with nature and there are also many more possibilities to make your pond really stand out.

Your friends will envy you

Another benefit of natural pools is that your friends will also be quite impressed and will really envy you regarding your natural pond.

Chances are that you will hang out with them quite frequently with them at your natural pond and you can really enjoy a good time together.

Hence, if you want to impress other people and also want to have a great time, natural ponds may be a great way to go for you.

You will have a short vacation opportunity in your garden

Many people also go on short vacations on a regular basis at weekends in order to relax and to unplug from their unpleasant daily life.

However, if you have a natural pond in your garden, chances are that you will no longer have to go on short vacations since you will have a natural environment in your backyard and you will be able to relax there much better than at most other locations.

Thus, you can also save plenty of money for short vacations by getting one of those natural ponds.

Natural ponds can provide a habitat for the local wildlife

Natural swimming pools not only have many advantages for you, they can also help our local flora and fauna.

Through the construction of those ponds, you will provide many animals and plants with a natural habitat.

In turn, those species will be better able to sustain their population, which is crucial to keep our ecosystems intact.

Less chemicals are used compared to conventional pools

Natural ponds also do not require you to use chemicals.

All processes to keep your pool clean are done in a natural manner and there will not be a need to use too many chemical components.

In turn, this will greatly improve your ecological footprint.

Hence, if you really want to keep your pool as natural as possible and want to avoid using chemicals on a significant scale, you will be far better off with natural swimming ponds compared to natural pools.

Natural ponds are suitable for most climate zones

Another upside of natural ponds is that they are also suitable for many different climate zones.

In fact, there will be no problems with cold winters since your pond will just freeze and the flora and fauna will come back one it becomes warmer.

Thus, you will not have to care about covering your pool or other things since you can keep it completely natural and just treat it in line with our natural seasons.

Natural materials are used for construction

You can also choose from a significant variety of different materials when it comes to building your own natural pond.

You may want to rely on sustainable woods like bamboo or other natural materials.

By relying on those sustainable natural materials, you can avoid resource depletion and have a pretty clean conscience since you know that you do something good for the environment.

Back to the roots

Many people in our nowadays society also feel that there is something missing in their lives.

They go to work, come home tired, eat, sleep and repeat.

However, there is no excitement about what they are doing and some people even look forward to their weekends when it is just Monday.

For many people, this rhythm is just not fulfilling at all and many people need another thing that keeps them motivated in life.

One of those hobbies could be to build your own natural pond.

This will definitely bring you back to the roots and will give you a significant level of fulfillment since you will see the end result of your work pretty soon.

Hence, if you are one of those people who earn really good money but still feel that something is missing in their lives, you may want to think about building a natural swimming pond with your own hands or to engage in other activities like fishing or hunting which bring you back to your roots.

Natural ponds need less energy

Since the water in natural swimming pools is filtered through plants in a natural manner, there is also less need to use additional filter systems and therefore, also the amount of energy that has to be used for this kind of ponds is lower compared to conventional swimming pools.

Hence, you can also save plenty of energy and money in the long run by investing in a natural swimming pond.

Low maintenance costs

Compared to conventional swimming pools, also the overall maintenance efforts and costs are often smaller with natural swimming ponds.

This is due to the fact that less technology is used and if less technology is used, less technology can break.

Can improve your overall health level

Since the water in natural swimming ponds will also not be treated with chlorine, chances are that you can enjoy a much healthier swimming experience compared to using conventional pools where the water is treated with a bunch of harmful chemicals.

Thus, you can also do your health a favor by relying on natural ponds instead of conventional pools.

Disadvantages of Natural Swimming Ponds

1. Natural swimming ponds can attract snakes
2. Natural swimming pools can be expensive
3. Plenty of planning is required
4. Construction can take a long time
5. You have to acquire plenty of knowledge
6. Natural ponds require plenty of space
7. Algae may develop over time
8. Fishes and other aquatic animals may die
9. Water may not be entirely clear
10. Some people may be afraid to go swimming in those ponds
11. Frogs can be quite annoying
12. Natural ponds may attract mosquitos
13. Problems with your neighbors
14. May not be allowed in some regions
15. Can lead to unpleasant smell

Natural swimming ponds can attract snakes

Apart from the numerous advantages of natural ponds, there are also some downsides to those natural pools.

One problem with natural swimming pools is that they can attract unwanted wildlife.

Pretty often, your pool will also attract snakes since they will find an optimal ecosystem with frogs and other small animals that they can eat.

Hence, if you don’t like snakes at all, going for a natural pond may not be good for you.

Moreover, in many regions all over the world, snakes can be quite poisonous and if you live in one of those regions, you may also want to refrain from natural ponds in order to protect yourself from serious dangers related to those animals.

Natural swimming pools can be expensive

Another disadvantage of natural pools is that they can be quite expensive.

Depending on the materials you choose and on the level of individuality, you can spend plenty of money on your natural pond.

Thus, if you want to get one of those natural swimming ponds, make sure that you have enough money left in order not to get into financial difficulties.

Plenty of planning is required

Before your natural pond can be built, you also need to plan a lot.

Quite often, it can take many weeks of planning until you figured everything out.

Moreover, also during the actual construction of the pool, you may change your mind from time to time and additional planning might be required.

Planning a natural pond is not an overnight project and you should be aware that it will take plenty of effort and time until you will finally be satisfied.

Construction can take a long time

Not only the planning phase can take plenty of time, also the actual construction of the pool can be time-consuming.

Depending on the size and on the complexity of the project, building those pools from start to finish can take many months.

Consequently, make sure that you have enough time and patience when you decide for building a natural pond.

You have to acquire plenty of knowledge

Even though the maintenance efforts and costs for natural swimming pools are often rather low, you will still have to acquire plenty of knowledge.

For instance, you will have to figure out what to do when some of your plants die off or when the water quality gets worse.

Hence, you will also have to invest plenty of time to learn and to educate yourself about natural swimming ponds so that you will be able to solve potential problems that may arise sooner or later.

Natural ponds require plenty of space

Another issue with natural ponds is that they also require more space than conventional pools on average.

This is due to the fact that in natural ponds, there needs to be a recreational area where you can’t swim and which is meant for plants who filter the water.

In conventional pools, you will not find such an area and this is the reason why natural ponds are more space-consuming.

Therefore, make sure that your property is big enough for the construction of a natural pond.

Algae may develop over time

Natural pools also have the problem that since no chemicals are used in the water, the chances that excessive amounts of algae will develop sooner or later is much higher compared to conventional pools.

In turn, those algae can be extremely harmful to the water quality and you will have to take action to remove it somehow.

Fishes and other aquatic animals may die

If you have a natural pond, chances are that frogs may appear sooner or later.

Moreover, you may also want to raise fishes in your natural swimming pond.

However, those animals may die sooner or later and this can be quite an unpleasant picture.

You will be responsible to collect the dead animals out of the water and to get rid of them somehow.

Many people may not want to do that and therefore, if you are a rather sensitive person, natural ponds may not be for you.

Water may not be entirely clear

Since the water will not be treated with chemicals, chances are that it will also not stay as clear as the water in conventional swimming pools.

Hence, the look will be different and if you don’t like cloudy water, chances are that you will be better off with just going for a conventional pool instead of a natural pond.

Some people may be afraid to go swimming in those ponds

Some people also simply do not want to go swimming in those ponds.

Especially if there are snakes and other unpleasant animals around, I can really understand them.

Hence, natural ponds are not for everyone and you should make sure that you are really the type of person who is fine with the peculiarities of natural ponds.

Moreover, also your guests may not enjoy swimming in your natural pool at all if they have to fear to swim with poisonous animals.

Frogs can be quite annoying

Your natural pond will also attract frogs for sure.

In the long run, this can be quite annoying since those frogs can croak quite loud and especially at nighttime or in the early morning, this can also greatly affect your sleep in an adverse manner.

Natural ponds may attract mosquitos

Another problem with natural swimming ponds is that they will also attract many mosquitos.

Mosquitos can really lower the overall quality of life and the atmosphere in a garden and many people are even allergic to mosquito bites.

Hence, if you don’t want to have those mosquitos in your garden, you may want to go for conventional pools or no pool at all instead.

Problems with your neighbors

Over time, you might also get into serious trouble with your neighbors.

If you have plenty of frogs that croak quite loud, chances are that your neighbors will feel disturbed and at one point in time, they may even sue you.

In the worst case, you may even have to remove your natural swimming pool from your garden.

May not be allowed in some regions

In some regions of our planet, natural swimming pools may also not even be allowed by law or other regulations.

Hence, if you live in one of those regions, you will simply not have the chance to enjoy the benefits of natural pools since you would be fined quite a lot.

Thus, in such a case, go for a conventional pool instead or consider moving to another region where natural pools may be allowed.

Can lead to unpleasant smell

If you do not maintain your natural pond in a proper manner, chances are that it will smell quite bad sooner or later.

Due to the absence of chemicals in the water, algae and other unwanted organisms may spread quite fast and if you don’t take appropriate actions, chances are that your pond will emit serious smell over time, which might not only be quite unpleasant for you, but also for your neighbors.

Top 10 Natural Swimming Pool Pros & Cons – Summary List

Natural Swimming Pool Pros	Natural Swimming Pool Cons
Natural swimming pools can help you relax	Natural swimming ponds can be expensive
You can spend short vacations in your garden	Natural pools may attract snakes
You can build a natural pool yourself	Planning for those pools can be exhausting
Can increase your level of creativity	Construction can be time-consuming
Opportunity to get a custom-made pool	You will have a lot to learn
Your friends will envy you	Water quality may become worse over time
Can provide a natural habitat for many animals	Algae may develop
You can use natural materials	Aquatic animals may die
You can save energy with natural ponds	Problems with your neighbor
Not too much maintenance necessary	Can lead to unpleasant smell

Should You Get A Natural Swimming Pool?

We can conclude from the previous analysis that there are many important advantages and disadvantages of natural swimming pools.

In the end, you have to decide for yourself whether the pros of natural ponds outweigh the cons or not.

If you decide for getting a natural pond, make sure that you acquire plenty of knowledge in this field so that you know what you have to do in case problems may arise.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_pond

https://www.ecohome.net/guides/2237/natural-ponds-and-natural-swimming-pools/

https://www.clear-water-revival.com/diy-natural-swimming-pools-top-10-tips/

About the author

My name is Andreas and my mission is to educate people of all ages about our environmental problems and how everyone can make a contribution to mitigate these issues.

As I went to university and got my Master’s degree in Economics, I did plenty of research in the field of Development Economics.

After finishing university, I traveled around the world. From this time on, I wanted to make a contribution to ensure a livable future for the next generations in every part of our beautiful planet.

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