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NYC health department has questions about the floating pool set for the East River
By
Liam Quigley
Published Apr 6, 2026
Modified Apr 6, 2026
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Courtesy of +POOL
By
Liam Quigley
Published Apr 6, 2026
Modified Apr 6, 2026
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A floating pool that could one day offer New Yorkers a chance to swim in water filtered from the East River is moving forward despite delays caused by ice floes and blizzards and seaweed.
The latest iteration of the plan, now referred to as POOL1, is essentially 25% of the size of the original pool and will be towed into place for testing this summer on the shore of Lower Manhattan beneath the FDR Drive. The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is demanding a strict ‘dry run’ of the pool without bathers.
The pool is still waiting for six approvals from the health department and its creators are still hoping to open it for swimming by the summer of 2027. The team is adding a chlorine dosing system to the pool at the request of the health department that would only be used to clean the pool in the event of an emergency. For normal operations, it would rely on mechanical filtration of water from the East River.
The project is a collaboration between designers and architects, first announced in 2010. It gained the backing of Gov. Hochul and then-mayor Eric Adams, who touted the pool in 2024, promising New Yorkers they’d be splashing away by the summer of 2025.
The project’s managing director, Kara L. Meyer said the delays were a necessary step toward making the five boroughs a “swimmable city.”
“We have advanced so far in the process, thanks to the leadership and direction of the NYS Health Department and the collaboration of the NYC Health Department,” she wrote.
“We are very excited to work with the new health commissioner and the new administration to take river access [to] the finish line.”
+POOL representatives shared the hurdles from the health department at a local community board meeting in March, which was first reported on by East of the Bowery.
Once the testing is done this summer, the plus pool will be towed away, where it will get outfitted with showers, lockers and other finishing touches to prepare it for the summer of 2027.
Health department spokesperson William Fowler said that while the floating pool is an innovative and exciting concept, it needs to be safe for swimmers.
“The city and state health departments have established detailed protocols to guide +POOL in meeting health and safety requirements and have been reviewing submissions and working with Plus Pool as they refine their design,” he said.
“Outstanding questions regarding water quality, filtration reliability and swimmer safety do remain and will require further testing to take place,” Fowler added.
Health officials said that the pool’s proximity to sewer pipes that discharge raw sewage into the river during storms is a concern and that the agency wants more data on water quality before letting swimmers cannonball into the filtered East River water.
Trever Holland, chair of the parks committee at the Manhattan Community Board 3 that adjoins the future site of the pool, said he hoped that it could move quickly through the red tape.
“We’d like to make sure this happens and we really hope the Department of Health can speed up the process.”
This story has been updated with additional information.
Tagged
Health and Science
manhattan
new york city
Liam Quigley
Liam Quigley is a reporter covering parks & sanitation for Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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