Eau Naturel! Borden Natural Swimming Pool opens for summer
July 11, 2018

The City of Edmonton and its partners celebrated the grand opening of Borden Natural Swimming Pool at a community event today. An important milestone of the City’s Borden Park Revitalization Plan , the facility is the first public, natural swimming pool in Canada.

“Borden Natural Swimming Pool marks another important first for Edmonton and for Canada,” said Mayor Don Iveson. “Not only is it an engineering marvel, but it achieves a vision to honor Borden Park’s legacy as a natural recreation site and offers a unique experience that will draw Edmontonians from across the city.” 

Borden Natural Swimming Pool differs from traditional outdoor pools by replicating naturally occurring filtration processes. Instead of salt or chlorine, water is cleaned through layers of rock, two regeneration basins teeming with plant and animal life, and the sun’s UV rays.

The Borden Natural Swimming Pool project began in 2010 and the facility opened to the public on July 11, 2018. The $14.4 million facility received $1,269,000 million in funding from the City of Edmonton, $39,000 in partnership with the community, and $13,097,000 million from the Government of Alberta’s Municipal Sustainability Initiative.

“Our government is committed to supporting the things that matter to Albertans and that means helping to fund innovative and eco-friendly projects like Edmonton’s Borden Pool,” said Shaye Anderson, Minister of Alberta Municipal Affairs. “Spending time at the pool is a terrific way for families to stay active and connect with their neighbours, and I am proud that this facility will benefit Edmontonians for years to come.”
 
The facility is enhanced by a new public artwork – Ripples on a Pond by Canadian Métis artist William Frymire. The two hand-crafted mosaics, depicting three Alberta aquatic species, are approximately 4 metres in diameter. Ripples on a Pond was commissioned through the City of Edmonton’s Percent for Art policy, which allocates one per cent of construction budgets to acquiring public art.

Admission to Borden Natural Swimming pool is free for the 2018 season.
For more information:

Media contact:
Communications Advisor
Community Services
780-868-0103

Public Affairs Officer
Municipal Affairs
780-422-8816