Why NYC’s Floating Pool Could Change Beach Access For The Entire State

Source: Fast Company, Sarah Amadolare
Photo: +Pool

After a decade of efforts to bring a floating pool to the East River, a statewide investment in swimming is helping make +Pool a reality.

In the 1970s, tight restrictions on beaches in New York Harbor made sense. Oil spills, industrial waste, and untreated sewage had ruined the Hudson and East Rivers for swimming.

But even as those waterways got cleaner in the decades following the 1972 Clean Water Act, the rules stuck. Few beaches have been created in New York City since then. There are just four public bathing areas along the entire 315-mile Hudson River.

People are still entering the water. Drownings have surged statewide in recent years, amid shortages of lifeguards and swim lessons. Communities of color face a disproportionate drowning burden, a legacy of racism at public pools after World War I. Meanwhile, climate change has intensified, increasing heat-related illnesses and deaths.

But a major investment, along with changes to city and state health codes, takes aim at these challenges. In January, Governor Kathy Hochul announced NY SWIMS, the biggest statewide investment in swimming since the New Deal, when New York City built 11 massive public pools. With its emphasis on municipal pools and natural waterways in communities that are underserved or vulnerable to extreme heat, the $150 million plan underscores how access to swimming addresses equity, public health, and climate resilience.

“It became clear during the pandemic that many things need to be done to make it easier for New Yorkers, especially in marginalized communities, to have access to safe, healthy, and, where possible, sociable outdoor activity, particularly during hot weather. Swimming fits into that,” said Thomas Matte, a senior lecturer at Columbia University and member of the New York City Panel on Climate Change, which helps policymakers grapple with climate science and adaptation.

The city and state also invested $16 million in +Pool, a filtered floating pool, for a demonstration project in the East River this summer. Initially proposed in 2010, +Pool has been stymied by city and state health codes. But the State Department of Health issued guidance for new beaches in January aimed at helping communities throughout the state create their own floating pools in rivers and lakes. And the New York City Department of Health announced a new framework for permitting nontraditional beaches, including floating pools, in March.

“That’s revolutionary,” said Kara Meyer, Managing Director of +Pool, which has been working closely with health department officials on the changes. “This policy did not exist two months ago. It’s super exciting in terms of public access to waters in New York City.”

NY SWIMS also supports wage increases and training programs for lifeguards and expands access to swim lessons, including free programs at state parks. New York City is facing a lifeguard shortage this summer. +Pool’s free lifeguard certification program, co-led by social services nonprofit Henry Street Settlement, certified 61 new lifeguards in June. But there are roadblocks to scaling up the program, which received 635 applicants.

“We really struggled to find available and affordable pool space. And even with interest, we can’t expand,” said Cailin Wolff, a certified lifeguard who co-led the training.

LINGERING OUTDATED POLICIES

The changes only go so far. New York State health code forbids swimming within 750 feet of a combined sewage overflow (CSO) discharge point, slashing opportunities for beaches in urban areas, according to Chris Boyd, senior consultant at MARC Strategic Solutions, a sustainability and public health adviser. The restrictions persist despite the success of the Clean Water Act, which reduced unplanned discharges of wastewater from sewage treatment plants. New York City health code has an additional layer of restriction from the 1970s aimed at limiting industrial and sewage treatment plant pollution. That eliminates nearly 200 miles of potential beach area along the City’s waterfront, according to Boyd, who met with communities along the Hudson River to assess both interest in swimming and the challenges to opening beaches for a report released in February.

“As the water quality improved, that alignment with the Clean Water Act definition, which isn’t about swimming, began to diverge,” said Boyd. “The state DEC is already recognizing that outside of rain events, the water quality generally meets swimmable criteria.”

The state’s Department of Environmental Conservation has proposed allowing limited use of waters impacted by CSO discharges. And given the alternative, Boyd suggests, there should be more flexibility to assess water quality on a site-specific basis and in response to current weather conditions.

“Assess the health risks of not having a half dozen swimmable locations in the Bronx during a heat wave, not having routine recreational swimming or learn-to-swim programs all summer long. Then frame out the public health equity analysis around all of the benefits that occur when that risk isn’t present,” Boyd said.

A historic beach in Ossining, about 30 miles north of New York City, demonstrates the variability of water quality in the Hudson River. The water in Louis H. Engel Jr. Park “almost always” meets state standards, said Dan Shapley, senior director of advocacy, policy & planning at the advocacy group Riverkeeper. The beach has been officially closed since the mid-20th century, and there are no lifeguards. Still, many people in the community swim there, according to Hudson Valley Stream Conservancy president Gareth Hougham, who’s been leading efforts to reopen the beach for the past several years.

“We’ve got a huge underserved community, and we don’t have any public outside pools here. So on a hot summer day, the community just comes down to our beautiful Hudson River beach and goes swimming,” Hougham said.

The Village of Ossining is among the disadvantaged communities where New York State intends to address climate justice issues. Water quality studies in 2021 and 2023 revealed aging infrastructure in the Village of Ossining as the source of pollution at the beach—not a nearby sewage treatment plant. Village officials have been unwilling to repair the sewer main or allow the Hudson Valley Stream Conservancy to apply for a grant to locate any additional cracks in the pipe. But Hougham hopes they’ll come around soon.

“Governor Hochul’s program has energized us, and to some extent legitimized what we’ve been trying to do in the eyes of more of the local politicians,” said Hougham.

In nearby Sleepy Hollow, another community along the Hudson River that’s lacking public pools, Megan Isenstadt has been leading efforts to reopen the historic Kingsland Point beach, which has been closed since 1974. Isenstadt, who works in television production and has two young children, is organizing a festival at the beach in July to drum up support.

“There’s a ton of old timers in the community that remember swimming at this beach,” Isenstadt said. But “there’s a lot of people that grew up in the ‘80s when [the river] was really unsafe, and they can’t shake that.”

Misperceptions of Hudson River water quality will take time to change, experts say. And the new state guidelines still don’t allow communities to respond to water conditions as effectively as possible. Shapley points out that flow-through river pools (contained, but unfiltered swimming areas) are being held to even higher standards than beaches.

“We should be looking creatively at how we can get a management structure and protocols in place, so that people can safely use the water on the many good days and hours that we have, and that keep people out of the water during those less-frequent times when it isn’t safe,” Shapley said.

Nonetheless, New York’s efforts are encouraging an international urban swimming movement, according to Matt Sykes, founder of Regeneration Projects. The Australian environmental consulting firm created a swimmable cities handbook with advice gleaned from projects like +Pool. Plans are underway for the inaugural global swimmable cities summit in Paris next year. A swimmable cities charter signed by about 30 international nonprofits, companies, and universities is also being finalized. The charter will further guide the use of urban waterways for swimming—including the need to “rewrite the rules” as New York has begun to do, Sykes said.

“The charter is about creating a common narrative and principles,” he added. ”It’s going to be up to city leaders to say, ‘We’re up for this challenge.’”

https://www.fastcompany.com/91144544/how-a-floating-pool-pushed-new-york-to-invest-in-climate-equity