United by Water
As we approach the 4th of July, 2022, Eric Herman offers a unique summation of our history and ongoing relationship with the world of water. As he points out, creating water infrastructure and technology stands among our society’s greatest achievements.    ...
Extracting Water from Dry Thin Air
Over a third of the world’s population lives in arid climates where water is scarce. A new technology developed by scientists and engineers at the University of Texas at Austin have synthesized material that might be able to help water-insecure people access safe drinking water in areas where it doesn’t rain. ...
Lifeguard Shortage Stalls Pool Openings
Among the many challenges facing the pool industry, a shortage of lifeguards is keeping thousands of public pools across the country from opening. One possible solution may be to look to senior citizens as a possible source to fill the gap. After all, being a lifeguard is not restricted to the young. ...
Protecting Plaster: The First 28 Days
Pool start-ups have long been recognized as a key phase where the construction process gives way to service, a time where the curing process is crucial to the appearance and longevity of pool plaster, and by dent also critical to keeping customers happy with the appearance of their new pool. ...
Preparing for a Familiar Battle
The lines are being drawn. In a narrative that has become familiar to many in the watershaping industry, pools, spas and other water features are at risk of severe filling and even building permit restrictions as a result of the historic drought impacting some of the industry’s western markets.   ...
Essential Pool Construction Goes Live & Online
The Wolfpack is preparing a perfect summer-school offering, presenting its popular Construction 2111: Essential Pool Construction live and online over six evenings in July. No need to travel or take time away to elevate your understanding of the industry’s most essential construction knowledge.  ...
Johnny Appleseed was Right: Embrace Urban Trees!
The presence of trees in cities makes life better, a fact made provable by a wide set of both measurable and purely intuitive positive effects. From economic benefits to positive emotional and social impacts to the pleasure of birds and bees, urban trees are worth hugging.   ...
Systems Thinking
Generating quality water conditions should be a primary objective in all watershape designs, asserts Steve Kenny. Raising the bar, he says, means turning to a systems-based approach to water treatment that involves all aspects and components of watershape systems that move, filter, test, heat, balance, sanitize and contain water.   ...
Sunset Dynamics
Although this project was developed and installed back in 2014, it remains one of Kevin Cobabe’s personal favorites for a handful of unusual and special reasons he explains here. Featured in Sunset Magazine's “Idea House” program, the property gained widespread attention with a design that was most certainly ready for its close up. ...
Building a Cenote
Artificial rock can be used to great effect across a spectrum of watershape settings, especially when the design is inspired directly by nature, explains Bruce Riley. Case in point, this elaborate project is designed to recreate the magic of cenotes, the legendary watery caves of the Yucatan peninsula. ...