soils science
Given the fact that swimming pools and most other watershapes are placed in the ground, I've long been of the opinion that it's incumbent upon all of us who design and build them to have a basic understanding of soils science and geology. As has been stated in this magazine and elsewhere more times than I can count, the nature of the ground we build in (or on) has everything to do with the structures we design. Indeed, the composition and structure of the soils we encounter may well be the most fundamental of all the technical issue we ever face. Simply put, a watershape that's properly engineered in light of prevailing soil conditions will endure, while one that isn't runs a significant and often inevitable risk of structural failure. Relatively few of us who read WaterShapes are civil engineers, soils scientists or geologists, but all of us
A rainstorm is a good thing: It gives us water, fills our lakes and streams, feeds our crops and landscapes and arguably makes our way of life possible. But if there's too much of that good thing, it can also irreparably damage homes, roadways, curb and gutter, crops, landscapes and other elements of the environment, particularly when we've altered the topography to suit our own purposes. The importance of erosion control and the need for including it in any land-altering project has been underscored through the years by numerous disasters, including landslides that have resulted in property destruction and even
