Just as a point of info, water can be "Made Faster" by adding a "surfactant" such as shampoo or a non toxic detergent to break surface tension.
I did some experiments with the jets in a jacuzzi tub by measuring the electric current for the pump motor with and without a surfactant. With the surfactant, the motor consumed about 20% less currant than with plain water.
The effect of breaking surface tension is actually at the interface of the water/material surface rather than by the material itself. If you want to reduce surface drag, just add a surfactant to the pool. However, the past strategy for making rules for swimming was to eliminate as many variables as possible and keeping things simple. That meant that guys could wear only briefs and not tech suits.
Sorry for the long explanation, but I'm a physics geek as well as a speedo lover.
