My wife and I purchased a house in the country with an in-ground pool that had been abandoned for more than a decade and had become a home to frogs and turtles. Knowing that we did not want to introduce chemicals into this already natural ecosystem, we contacted James Robyn at BioNova™ and he agreed to take on our pool’s transformation into a natural swimming pool. Concrete was repaired and the pool was re-lined with PoolHide®. A separate pond (the regeneration zone) was constructed just beyond the pool, and new plumbing lines were run. Having never owned a pool before, and having no experience with natural pools, there was definitely a bit of a learning curve, but Alan Weene at BioNova™ was always easy to reach when we had questions. And now that we are up and running we couldn’t be happier. The regeneration zone is home to frogs and turtles, butterflies and dragonflies. We’ve even had some visits from a great blue heron that lives on a nearby river. All this natural life keeps down the mosquito population very well. And the pool is clear and refreshing. With a little bit of effort it takes care of itself. I don’t worry about kids getting exposure to chlorine, and we can go for a swim and don’t even need to rinse off afterwards. We replaced the original molded concrete coping with irregular flagstone and it looks fabulous. For now we’ve only repaired the old concrete deck, but eventually we will transform that, as well. A few nights ago my daughter and I went out with flashlights to look at the frogs and found two dragonflies molting on closed lily blooms. What a wonderful experience for us. Something a sterile, traditional pool could never provide.
T.S. near Madison, VA – 2019
