2014/9.1, September 10 — Reinventing Paradise, Gutting a Pond, Customizing Vinyl and more

THE ESSENTIAL E-NEWSLETTER FOR WATERSHAPE DESIGNERS, ENGINEERS AND BUILDERS

September 10, 2014 www.watershapes.com

PROJECT PROFILE

A Wild Retreat

When Mother Nature wipes the slate clean with a hurricane, says Raymond Jungles, it’s possible to rework a property’s every detail. Having fantastic rocks on site along with a nice elevation change and the availability of great native plants? Well, it’s a great place to start. [more]

FEATURE ARTICLE

Custom Packages

Vinyl-liner pools have caught up in a big way when it comes to the kind of custom, resort-style features homeowners crave for their backyards. Here, Eric Gohn relates how advances in fabrication technology are making these cool package-pool details possible. [more]

VIDEO GALLERY

The HazMat Pond

Even people with good intentions make bad mistakes. But in this case, says Eric Triplett, the perpetrators aimed to deceive, misleading their clients and leaving behind an epic mess Triplett puts on display in a video that is guaranteed to make pond professionals cringe. [more]

ESSENTIAL

Mining Their Dreams

Pond and stream specialist Steve Sandalis has a penchant for creating dramatic watershape settings for residential clients who want something well beyond the ordinary. His firm’s expertise is on full display in this challenging project, which features a steep cascading waterfall, a stream and a pond suitable both for fish and for swimming — all executed in a confined space at the bottom of a narrow canyon.

This article, originally published in March 2008, has been digitized for all readers. Click here to see the full text and enlarge the images to study the craftsmanship in detail.

TRAVELOGUE

Water in the Desert

Inspired by the unique relationship between the Arizona landscape and the water that shapes it, say John Jennings and Jean Garbier, The Oasis waterpark in Phoenix was designed to blend in with its surroundings in a major resort — well worth a stimulating visit. [more]

WATERSHAPES WORLD

Stunted Expectations

A current news story about a gang of copper thieves dredged up old memories for Jim McCloskey — and leads him to express a concern about the ways small and often unrelated issues seem to be adding up to become potential challenges to public watershapes. [more]

The World’s Fastest Carpool?

Two Dudes Turn ’69 Coupe de Ville
Into Rolling Hot Tub, Plan to Race It

[more]

WATERSHAPES CLASSIC

Learning by Doing

Don’t get him started: The lack of plant literacy, wrote Bruce Zaretsky in his ‘On the Level’ column for September 2009, is a major deficit among professionals in a key segment of a supposedly ‘green’ industry. [more]

THE SHOPPING CART

Grand Effects Introduces Fire Candeleres

Grand Effects (Irvine, CA) has announced the availability of Fire Candeleres for residential and commercial applications. The units come in square or round formats and are available in stained concrete – or in a translucent quartz applied as a marquetry inlay and lit from within by white or colored LEDs. All come with black metallic or black concrete bases. For details, click here.

Otterbine Barebo Offers Low-Voltage Fountain Lighting

Otterbine Barebo (Emmaus, PA) has introduced Fountain Glo low voltage LED lighting systems for its line of aerators and fountains. Energy efficient, versatile and cost-effective, these two, four, six and eight-light sets operate 6.5-watt bulbs in bright white or warm white flood lamps, providing an 80% energy savings compared to MR16 halogen lamps. For details, click here.

THE AQUATIC QUIZ

Aussie Long-Distance Swimmer
Detained by Brits in Mid-Race

Many water-related stories have been in the news of late — including reports connected to the three questions below.

1. Australian marathon swimmer John Van Wisse — competing in the Arch to Arc race, which includes running, swimming and cycling — was confronted by British police, border guards and coast-guard staff while he was swimming near the cliffs of Dover. (The name of the event stems from its course, from London’s Marble Arch to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.) Why was the Aussie briefly detained by British officials, according to theaustralian.com?

a. There were allegations he was using performance-enhancing drugs.
b. He was swimming in the nude.
c. Some people thought he was trying to sneak into the U.K. illegally.
d. Australia and the U.K. currently are in the midst of a diplomatic row.

2. Web site host.madison.com reports that Barry Alvarez, longtime football coach at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and currently the school’s director of athletics, recently described his “swimming routine” in an interview with The Wall Street Journal: “My swimming routine is to pour a ______ and lay over one of those floating devices with my _______ and shoot the breeze with everybody.” Fill in the blanks.

a. Cocktail b. Glass of wine c. Beer d. Glass of lemonade.

3. According to reuters.com, University of Southern California football player Josh Shaw admitted he lied about why he leapt off a second story balcony at an apartment complex, seriously injuring both ankles. Shaw, who is a defensive back and captain of the USC team, was hailed as a hero because of his original story, which was widely reported by the media. What was his fabricated version of the incident?

a. He jumped off the balcony to rescue his girlfriend, who was drowning in the pool

below.

b. He jumped off the balcony to rescue his nephew, who was drowning in the pool

below.

c. He jumped off the balcony to stop a fistfight taking place on the pool deck.
d. He jumped off the balcony to stop a rape taking place on the pool deck.

To find out how many you got right, click here.“