Last week, ground broke on what will be the United States' first natural swimming pool for public use.
The pool will be located at Webber Park in Minneapolis, which formerly had a traditional public pool that closed in 2010 due to structural and mechanical issues. The pool was demolished in 2012, and now, a new, chemical-free pool will take its place.
The budget for the pool is $4 million, which sources say is about the same as a conventional public pool, yet the park expects to see savings in operation costs due to the lack of chemicals.
According to BioNova, the company behind the project, the pool is planned to be 24,000 square feet with a 16,000 square-foot regeneration zone. And while the natural pool is a first for the U.S., the project will also have several features typical of conventional public pools, like lanes for competitive swimming, a jumping platform, zero-depth beach entries and a wide slide.
The pool is expected to open in spring 2014, and will be free to the public.
While this is set to be the first public natural swimming pool in the country, it isn't the first NSP in the States — check out the residential property in Massachusetts that has that honor.
