August 2026: Temperature Data Corrected and New Filters Planned
In August 2026 we corrected about 1,600 listings wrongly marked temperature controlled and kept refining the new site, with filters, photo uploads and travel tips planned. Our Pool of the Month is in Sister Bay, Wisconsin.
Our August 2026 pool listings update is mostly about data quality: we reformatted the water temperature fields and then corrected about 1,600 listings that were wrongly marked as temperature controlled. We also kept refining the new site.
Water temperature data
We finished reformatting the water temperature fields so they can be used in the map pins. In doing so, we found that an earlier transformation of the database had left a large number of outdoor facilities listed as "temperature controlled", meaning heated in the cooler months and artificially chilled in summer. Some of the ocean and harbor pools in Australia were shown that way.
To correct it, we asked our programmer for a report of every temperature-controlled facility in the database and began checking them one listing at a time, about 1,600 in all. In some cases we had to use the facility's own website to learn whether the pool's temperature was controlled. If it was not, we then looked into whether the pool was heated or unheated.
The new site
We also spent much of the month on refinements to the new website, which does not yet have a launch date. That work included tweaks to the search result map pages and a complete reorganization of the detail listing page.
In the new site you will be able to filter the first results to show only:
- standard-length pools (50 meters, 25 meters and 25 yards)
- specific types of pool, such as public, college or university, or private club
- indoor, outdoor or convertible pools
- pools that host swim teams, by type: Masters, youth swimming, diving, water polo and others
- pools with diving boards, diving platforms or both
We are also adding a way for users to send photographs of the pools themselves, and we hope to have three or four good photos of each listed pool.
Over the years we have collected information about swimming in different countries, along with links to other pool-finding websites. Examples include the rule against swim trunks with pockets when swimming in France and the advice to cover tattoos when swimming in Japan. We will add these travel tips to each listing, based on the facility's location.
