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Illustrative AI-generated visualisation. Not an actual installation.
What if you could go wild swimming without leaving home?
A natural swimming pond is a carefully designed part of the garden, with plants and biological filtration helping to maintain the water without conventional chlorine treatment.
Illustrative AI-generated visualisation. Not an actual installation.
The opportunity
Picture a summer evening. You walk down the garden, past the planting, and step into clear water edged with reeds and irises. No changing rooms, no car park, no journey to the coast. Just your own garden.
It isn’t a fantasy. Natural swimming pools have been designed and built in private gardens in Ireland, including in Co. Louth, north Cork and Co. Laois.
An open lawn, planting at the edges, and room to think differently about both.
AI-generated illustration
An illustration of an imagined garden. PlotNua has not assessed the suitability of this or any real property.
The problem
For most of us, a swimming pool means a conventional tiled pool. It is one answer, not the only one.
The possibility
Biological filtration, a planted regeneration area and gentle circulation.
A natural swimming pool is cleaned by biological filtration (plants, a biological filter, or both) instead of chlorine.
It isn’t an ordinary garden pond that someone decided to swim in. Most have two connected parts: a deeper area for swimming, and a shallower, planted area where the water is cleaned. Many also use a pump and filter to keep the water moving.
That’s what makes it different from a pond made for fish or for looking at: its depth, its filtration and the way the water is managed are all planned around people swimming in it. It still needs looking after. Plants are cut back, debris is cleared, and the water is checked through the season.
How a natural swimming garden works. A natural swimming pond uses plants, natural microorganisms and careful design to help keep the water clean, clear and healthy without conventional chlorine treatment.
1 · Water flows naturally. Water moves between the swimming zone and the planted regeneration zone, either naturally or with a small pump depending on the design.
2 · Plants and microorganisms clean the water. Aquatic and marginal plants take up excess nutrients, while beneficial bacteria living on plant roots and in gravel help break them down.
3 · Clean, clear water for swimming. The result is clean, clear water in the swimming zone, without the need for conventional chlorine or chemical treatment.
Planted regeneration zone: a shallow, planted area where nature does the work. Swimming zone: a deeper area for swimming, typically 1.5–2.0 metres.
Three ways to bring natural swimming into your garden. Designs vary in appearance, size, maintenance and cost. The three common approaches are described in section 04 below.
Important: natural swimming ponds can be designed to work with nature, without conventional chlorine treatment. Maintenance requirements vary between designs, and all systems require some care. The exact design, cost and ongoing maintenance depend on the site, the installer and your individual circumstances.
They differ in how much the planting does, how much equipment is involved and how the water looks. The first is the one this Discovery is about.
Plants, microorganisms and planted regeneration areas provide biological filtration. Some designs use little mechanical equipment.
Combines planted regeneration areas with pumps or additional biological filtration.
Uses engineered biological filtration, sometimes with little visible aquatic planting. Compact, biologically filtered pools exist elsewhere in Europe, from about 25 m² of water. They look more like a conventional pool than a pond, and we haven’t found an installer offering them in Ireland.
Current installation availability in the Republic of Ireland has not been verified.
All three rely on biological filtration rather than conventional chlorine treatment. Maintenance varies between designs, and every one still needs some care and regular checks on the water.
A swim before breakfast. A cool-off on a summer evening. Your garden, from the water.
AI-generated illustration
What exists today
In Ireland it’s a bespoke landscape project, usually designed by a landscape architect or garden designer and built by a landscape contractor.
Near Carlingford, a contemporary garden was created around a natural swimming pool. The garden was designed by Andrew Dunne of Andrew Christopher Garden Design, and built by Silverstream Landscapes.
In 2020 an Irish natural swimming pool garden won an award at the ALCI Landscape Awards: this project earned Silverstream Landscapes the ALCI’s Landscape Contractor of the Year award. The designer describes the project as almost two years in the making, including a detailed planning application.
A natural swimming pool in rural north Cork features in the portfolio of Cathal O’Meara Landscape Architects. Its water is harvested from the roofs of nearby outbuildings. A shallow planted zone helps clean the water and is warmed by the sun. A second natural pool in the practice’s portfolio is fed from a well on the site.
Near Durrow, artist and permaculturist Marc Rome built a natural pool for his own family, as reported by The Irish Times in 2022. It’s about 16 metres by 6 metres and holds around 117,000 litres, with a reed bed and an iris zone working alongside a simple garden pump.
Projects are described from published sources. Their inclusion doesn’t mean the designers or builders currently offer natural swimming pools, or that they are connected with PlotNua. No project photographs are shown.
The practicalities
What the rules and safety require, kept apart from design guidance.
For example, a pond of roughly 8 m by 5 m, before you add a place to sit, a path or a deck. Space guidance from Homebuilding & Renovating (UK, 2022). Requirements vary with the design.
Planted designs need space: about 40 m² of pond for around 20 m² of swimming water, before paths and terraces.
So the first question isn’t really “could I have one?” It’s “where would it go?” Think about:
Beyond the pond itself, a project may involve excavation, a liner, filtration equipment, pumps, planting and landscaping. These are the practical considerations worth understanding early.
What the rules and safety require
Planning, safety, water and electrics, each with its source below.
A natural swimming pond should be treated as a project likely to require planning permission. The planning exemptions for ordinary garden ponds should not be assumed to apply to swimming ponds. Check with your local planning authority before proceeding. A Section 5 declaration can provide a formal determination on whether proposed works are exempt.
Children can drown in a few centimetres of water. Fences and covers reduce the risk but are no substitute for supervision.
Ireland does not have a specific water-quality standard for private natural swimming pools. Biological filtration still requires maintenance and water-quality monitoring. Owners should agree a suitable testing and maintenance programme with their pool designer and an appropriate testing provider.
Natural swimming ponds can require substantial quantities of water. One documented Irish family pool holds approximately 117,000 litres. Restrictions on public water use can affect filling pools and ponds. Water supply, overflow and any eventual emptying should be considered during design and agreed with the relevant authorities or service providers where required.
Where pumps, filtration equipment or lighting require electrical installation work, use a Registered Electrical Contractor and obtain the appropriate completion certification.
Tell your home insurer before you build one, and check how your policy treats it.
Design guidance
Questions for you and your designer. The answers vary with every garden.
Planted designs need space: about 40 m² of pond for around 20 m² of swimming water, before paths and terraces. Traditional planted swimming ponds generally suit larger gardens; requirements vary with the design.
The ground shapes the design. The award-winning Co. Louth pool was built on a site with a very high water table. A designer will want to understand your soil, levels and water table before anything is dug.
A swimming pond means excavation, and machinery has to reach the garden. Side access, gates and the route through the garden all matter, and so does where the excavated soil will go.
Plants are cut back, debris is cleared, and the water is checked through the season. Some plant-led designs can have relatively modest maintenance needs, but every design needs some care, and any pumps or filters need routine checks.
We haven’t found published Irish prices for natural swimming pools. Costs depend on the site and design, so ask for a quote.
We’d rather tell you that than print a figure we can’t stand behind. What we can say is that a natural swimming pond is a substantial landscape investment. A designer can help you understand what your garden would involve before anything is dug.
Last checked 26 October 2026. PlotNua is an independent discovery platform and does not recommend or endorse any provider mentioned. The images on this page are AI-generated illustrations, not photographs of the projects described.
The homeowner decision
Explore yourself
Read the Irish projects, the practical guide and the sources, then talk to a designer directly.
Let PlotNua do the homework
Start a free conversation with PlotNua. Tell us about your garden and we’ll talk it through with you, using what PlotNua has researched.
Free for homeowners.
PlotNua doesn’t design or build swimming ponds, and nothing is booked by starting a conversation.
Talk to a landscape architect or garden designer about your garden first. It helps to bring:
Directories of landscape architecture practices and individual landscape architects.
A directory of member garden designers.
A search for accredited landscape contractors by service and county.
These are professional directories, provided for information. Listing doesn’t mean a member designs or builds natural swimming pools, and PlotNua has no arrangement with these organisations. Ask any designer about their experience with swimming ponds.
