New Jersey plays role in bringing future swimming to the East River
The Port of Newark is where the shell of the pilot pool was placed in the water - a 2,000-square-foot design.
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In the future, people may be able to take a swim in the East River near New York's Pier 35 - and New Jersey played a role Wednesday in bringing the +POOL vision to life.
The Port of Newark is where the shell of the pilot pool was placed in the water - a 2,000-square-foot design.
The signing of the shell marked the milestone.
The water filtering floating swimming pool concept (+POOL) and the nonprofit Friends of +POOL were envisioned over 10 years ago. The technology is one step closer to reality thanks to the shell.
The +POOL design has the pool filtering river water through its walls and then discharging water back to the source.
"What if you could access the water and reconnect New Yorkers to the water that surrounds them?" said Kara Meyer, +POOL managing director. "Would that perhaps also change their perspective of the waterways and help them want to fight to protect it and keep it clean?"
The shell seen on Wednesday of the first pool will test the process out on a smaller scale and give way to the eventual larger plus design pool.
"We are detailing the final design now, reviewing that with the health agencies, doing the modeling of the pool turnover and all of that," said Meyer. "Once we get agency sign-off, we can start construction."
The goal is to float it in by May 2026 for final testing, according to Meyer.
"So this is our first attempt at constructing this kind of innovation, but we certainly see it as scaling to many other urban waterways that currently are not accessible for swimming," said Meyer.
At this moment, any timeline for the +Pool to open is fluid. Ideally, it would be operating in 2027 if all permits go through in time.
