Why Cities Are Opening Their Rivers And Lakes To Swimming
As recently as the 1940s, New Yorkers swam in floating pools in the Hudson and East Rivers. A safer alternative to swimming directly in the river, the municipal baths kept residents cool in hot summer months until they were closed over sanitation concerns.
Now, as the city contends with life-threatening heat, can New Yorkers once again turn to the rivers to stay cool?
The team behind +Pool, an initiative to bring a floating swimming pool to the East River, is betting on it. The organization’s proposed cross-shaped, Olympic-size pool would differ from its historic predecessors in one significant way: filtration.