Commentaries, Interviews & Profiles

Safety is Tough to Talk About
The pool industry has always been challenged when it comes to discussing and promoting safety. As Eric Herman argues here, the way forward with the safety issue is to empower consumers with information about the benefits of swim instruction, as well as the importance of supervision and the spectrum of engineered safety systems and products. ...
Feeding Lake Mead
Managing water levels and flow through rivers systems and reservoirs might rightly be considered watershaping on the grandest possible scale. That unique skillset has come into play in a big way recently as refreshened water resources are distributed through drought-worn Colorado River system. ...
Outgrowing the ‘Pool Guy’
The labels watershapers use to describe who they are and what they do for a living matter in more ways than one, argues Kevin Woodhurst. Because professional terminology reflects an underlying value system and industry culture, there’s one term in particular that he believes should be permanently retired. ...
Pickleball Comes Home
As homeowners look to expand their at-home recreational options, sports courts are becoming more and more popular. While they’re not overtaking pools , says Scott Cohen, one game in particular, pickleball, is rising on his company’s list of popular menu items. ...
Bedsheets of Dunes and Water
Sand, water, sky and the occasional patch of mangroves conspire to create one of the most breathtaking and unusual places in the Southern Hemisphere, along Brazil’s Atlantic coast – a place where water is shaped by the forces of wind and the earth below.  ...
Drought Busting
Over the past two years, WaterShapes has devoted considerable coverage to the drought, and for good reasons that have become familiar to anyone who’s been paying attention to the issue. Still, there is some cause for optimism with the arrival of recent drought-busting storms. ...
Words of Wisdom for New Service Technicians
Independent pool service is a solitary task – an often-lonely profession built on sweat equity and skill. Veteran technician, Robert H. Foutz Jr., has made it his business to educate his fellow technicians, in classrooms, print and in conversation. Here he shares nuggets of wisdom for young technicians entering field.  ...
In the Company of Jellyfish
Jellyfish are among the oldest and most diverse creatures on earth, and among the most mysterious, occupying a unique niche in the animal kingdom since the dawn of life. Both beautiful and potentially dangerous, science continues to learn evermore fascinating aspects of these translucent denizens of the water. ...
The Uncertain Road Ahead
For all of the uncertainty in today’s economic and social landscape, change remains the only constant. Many of the questions that greeted the watershaping industry at the beginning of last year have remained in place, including whether or not the industry, and the greater economy is headed into deeper water.  ...
Pivoting to Renovations
During times of economic strife, many watershapers have kept financial pace by focusing on renovations rather than new construction. Is it time to again start thinking in that direction given current uncertain economic conditions? Industry veteran Brett Lloyd Abbott believes so, and has advice about making a tactical shift in messaging. ...