New York City's long-hyped floating +POOL in the East River is treading water again, after health officials raised fresh questions about whether the futuristic swim spot can keep bathers safe. What was once sold as a near-term downtown dip is now looking like a project that could need months, if not years, of extra testing and sign-offs before anyone actually jumps in.
As reported by Gothamist, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has told project leaders it still has "outstanding questions regarding water quality, filtration reliability and swimmer safety" and wants a strict dry run of the pool with no one in it. A department spokesperson said in a statement to Gothamist that those technical concerns will need more testing before any permit is on the table.
How the filtration stacks up
Friends of +POOL's pilot at Pier 35 showed encouraging lab results, along with a few operational headaches. Over a 92-day run, the system cut indicator bacteria down to very low levels using ultrafiltration followed by UV disinfection, while also logging some short-lived turbidity spikes and noting that viral analyses were still pending, according to the Friends of +POOL pilot report. Engineers say the data is valuable, but it also helps explain why regulators want repeatable proof that the setup works under a wide range of river conditions, not just when the tide cooperates.
Why regulators are cautious
The city's 2024 Site Assessment Protocol for Non-Traditional Recreational Water Projects calls for phased, data-heavy demonstrations of source-water treatment and recirculated-water monitoring, and specifically requires projects to show how they will "maintain residual disinfectant" inside a contained swimming area. That requirement gives the Health Department a clear technical basis to press for backup tools, such as an emergency chlorine dosing system, if filtration performance or river conditions cannot consistently guarantee public safety, according to the NYC Health Department protocol.
Pilot size and neighborhood reaction
The version now headed toward final testing is a smaller, rectangular pilot that is roughly one quarter the size of the originally advertised 9,000-square-foot plus-shaped pool. That trimmed-down footprint is intended to speed up prototype approvals and day-to-day trials on the water. Local leaders say they are glad to see movement toward actual on-water programming, even as they push agencies not to drag things out. Trever Holland of the Two Bridges community said he hoped the project could move "quickly through the red tape," as reported by The City.
What comes next
Friends of +POOL says it is planning another round of scaled testing this summer and has internally circled summer 2027 as a goal for opening to public swimmers, though city officials stress that any actual swim dates will depend entirely on whether the prototype clears the Health Department's checkpoints. +POOL's managing director has said the delays are uncomfortable but necessary if the dream of a "swimmable city" is going to become a real, safe public amenity.
As the pilot advances, regulators are set to focus on how reliably the filters perform, how well post-treatment monitoring works and how strong the contingency plans are when conditions get messy. In the near term, the to-do list is straightforward: complete the dry runs, hand over the pilot data to health officials and prove that the recirculated water can consistently meet the city's standards. If those boxes are checked, the East River's boldest public-pool experiment still has a route to becoming a neighborhood staple, but every splash is going to have to be backed up by data.
