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Go “Au Naturel” by Kendall
It has always seemed counter intuitive to me that we would spend
thousands of dollars to build a swimming pool, fill it with precious water,
and then add chemicals, such as chlorine, algaecide, acid and a host of other
chemicals to make this newly created water environment “safe” enough for
swimming. If our ground water is safe enough to be used for washing,
bathing and drinking, then what is the need for all these chemicals? I
know that our ground water here in Dade County is safe because before
hurricane Andrew, I was on groundwater. The house I
live in was built in 1954. There was no hook up for city water because
where I live was the country in 1954. People in my neighborhood all had
potable wells. I had dug a new well from which I drew water from the
Biscayne Aquifer because the original well was too shallow and the casing was
becoming perforated. The holes caused me to constantly lose the prime
on my pump, which supplied the water to my house. The well I dug was
twice as deep as the original well. The water is fantastic. It is
odorless and has a very fine taste. It is admittedly full of dissolved
calcium carbonate, which makes for hard water stains, but other than that
minor problem, the water is potable. So this made me think about
building a pool and using this wonderful water for a natural pool. All
I lacked was the expertise to turn my dream into a reality. Fortunately
for me, in the mid-seventies I met someone who had been constructing natural
pools right here in Dade County. He had moved into my neighborhood, and
I got to know him. Fortunately, we immediately hit it off. During
my time off in the summer, I worked with him on several natural pool building
projects in Coconut Grove and South Miami. After becoming good friends,
watching his natural pool building company grow by leaps and bounds and
gaining the expertise necessary to build a pool, I decided to take the leap
of faith and build my own natural pool. It was now
1984 and my wife, Jen, was pregnant with our first child. This was the
incentive I needed to embark on this major project. I wanted her to be
comfortable during her pregnancy, and I thought a pool would be a wonderful
way to stay cool during our hot, humid summers. I am fortunate to have
a large piece of property with ample room to build the size pool I
wanted. I had the opportunity to spend some time in New England and had
spent many joyous hours swimming in many New England ponds. They always
seemed to be fed by relatively small amounts of water from springs and
streams. They were always refreshing and relatively clear. So I
decided to pattern my “pool” after the ponds experienced in New England. My pool, most
people when they see it call it a pond, is about forty feet long and about
twenty-seven feet wide. My friend who builds natural pools also had
many aquariums and was familiar with the sub-sand filters that aquariums use
to filter the water. So the pools he builds all have sub-sand
filters. I decided to put a sub-sand filter in my pool. But
before I could put any type of filter in my pool, a hole had to be dug.
A hole with the dimensions mentioned above creates a tremendous amount of
fill. This fill was used as a berm along the
back and sides of my pool. Because the rock from which the pool was dug
is porous, a liner had to be put in the hole that was dug to keep the water
from percolating back into the aquifer. I then constructed a waterfall
from native rocks, constructed a grid from pvc pipe
that had many slits cut into it and placed it on top of the liner, and then
had several truck loads of pea rock dumped on top of the pvc
grid. When a pump is hooked up to this pvc
grid, and water is sucked from the pool, through the rock and into the pipe,
it is then directed over the waterfall to create a wonderful effect.
The sound of water flowing over rock and cascading into the pool is both
soothing and helps to aerate the water. Plants were planted in the pea
rock and a variety of fish were added. What is being created is a viable
ecosystem that will eventually reach homeostasis. Once homeostasis is
reached, the pool has become balanced and clears up to crystal clear
clarity. It is really something to behold. My pool has
been featured in the Miami Herald and videotaped for a presentation on
Channel 51 which was taped in “en español”.
However, the people who are the strongest advocates for a natural pool are my
children, all their friends and the children of friends of the family.
Children absolutely love it because of the incredible amount of life.
There are literally hundreds of baby fish, snails, crayfish and a variety of
other living creatures. I have all kinds of Everglades birds come to my
yard to feed off the fish and other living organisms that reside there.
I have seen Ibis, Great White Herons, Blue Herons, a variety of hawks, and
North American cranes just to mention a few. In addition to the birds,
there are raccoons, opossums, foxes and I even had a turtle come in and lay
eggs. There are also a variety of frogs and toads that come to feed at
night at the pool’s edge and lay their eggs in the pool. Because the
water has no chemicals, dragonflies are drawn to the water to feed, drink, mate and lay their eggs in the pool. I also have a
variety of snakes that come to the pool to drink. They are of the
non-poisonous variety. It is absolutely amazing the amount of life this
pool/pond has attracted to my yard and the area in which I live. This has been
a real labor of love. It is incredible how this pool has added such a
positive element to my life and the life of family and friends. It is
not without its problems, but the pluses far outweigh the negatives. I
have never regretted my decision to build a natural pool. I would
strongly recommend anyone to take the leap and build one. We do so many
things to degrade our natural environment. By taking on this venture we
enhance our natural environment. We create something that is
aesthetically pleasing as well as environmentally beneficial. Besides
my encouragement, I offer my years of experience should anyone be willing to
create his/her own natural pool. So, when do you want to start?
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