egli jona AG Develops Innovative Eco-Friendly Swimming Pool Design Concepts

In 2023, Inside Climate News reported that swimming pools present multiple significant problems to the environment, not least of which being the massive amount of wasted and contaminated water that pools consume. In their reporting, they found that one community in Cape Town, South Africa, was devoting over 70% of the town's water supply to swimming pool infrastructure, all to serve the recreational needs of under 12% of the population. Water usage is only the beginning of the challenges facing the industry, but as Swiss-based design firm egli jona AG points out, there may be a way forward for this most ubiquitous of summertime pastimes.

egli jona is one of several companies currently working to develop sustainable pool design concepts that use elegant, simple solutions to push the industry in a green direction. They call these new options “biodesign pools”, so named for their ability to integrate into the local ecosystem without causing significant harm or waste, as traditional swimming pools tend to do.

Clear & Present Challenges

As tech publication Fast Company reports, the task that egli jona and companies like them have taken on is not an easy one. To capture, treat, heat, and retain that much water in the hottest season of the year takes significant resources even under the best of circumstances, leading to a litany of sustainability concerns.

For example, traditional pools present a significant and ongoing threat to local wildlife, with one estimate from the Humane Gardener extrapolating the total number of wildlife fatalities due to swimming pools to be several millions per year. While some products do exist to reduce this number, they are not widely used, and may have limited efficacy even when properly deployed.

Additionally, chemically treated water can end up seeping into the local water supply, causing contamination and potentially harming aquatic life even further, according to the American National Pesticide Information Center.

New Solutions

To solve these problems, egli jona AG highlights the need for a multi-faceted approach.

For starters, they have recently partnered with other pioneers in the sustainable pool industry to create several design concepts using non-plastic materials and all-natural filtration methods. These pools not only reduce plastic waste, but they also have a longer lifespan on average than traditional pools, while also offering a swimming experience that is healthier for the skin.

They are also embracing a new “biofilter” concept, which functions by continuously passing the pool water through a natural phosphate filter, inhibiting the growth of algae and other plant-based contaminants. Larger debris is removed by a bow skimmer working in tandem with a robotic pool cleaner, resulting in a chemical-free pool that animals can easily escape from.

As far as materials are concerned, while the company does offer polypropylene-based pool liners as part of this service, they have also introduced several sustainable alternatives. For instance, they now offer pre-fabricated granite pool installations, versatile metallic pool liners, and stainless steel pool basins.

Other companies are offering solutions such as glass tile and concrete, which, while still carrying a significant initial carbon footprint, are less wasteful in the long run while also offering a more desirable aesthetic.

A Brighter Future For The Industry

While the swimming pool industry still has a long way to go before real progress can be made, technologies like those developed by egli jona AG and other cutting-edge solutions are entering the mainstream on a continuous basis. Not only that, but solutions like saltwater pools and rainwater harvesting are making sustainability more affordable.

With any luck, every neighborhood will be able to beat the heat in the near future without having to worry about the negative impacts of their summer fun on the environment.