Survey Says!

During the pandemic stay-cations became more popular than ever. Pools, hot tubs and other improvements to the outdoor living space were trending. As a result, the swimming pool industry's annual revenue now tops $1.1 billion.

For good reason, the number one concern of people who are shopping for pools is, you guessed it, price. A quick search will tell you that in-ground pools in the Nashville, TN area start around $60,000 and can easily exceed $200,000, with the average cost of a fiberglass pool ranging between $70,000 and $85,000.

Clarksville Fencing recently shared some information on what you need to do before you start building a pool, saying, “it pays to know all the liabilities that come along with pool ownership. … Every state and local government has a different set of regulations regarding pool code, so it's always best to check with you local

authorities to determine the most up to date regulations for your area.” That's great advice. So, we checked with David Smith at City of Clarksville Building & Codes, and he had a lot to say.

“A lot of people have huge backyards, so they're building pools and sheds on their property, often without realizing that these structures are on the periphery of a Public Utility & Drainage Easement (PU&DE) or in a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood way,” Smith said. “What we've found during all these recent flood events and high water events is that this can be a big deal.

“We also have more and more of these cluster developments that have 5-foot setbacks and PU&D easements, and we're finding a tremendous amount of violations within these types of installations.”

Smith says what's happening is homeowners are hiring contractors to, essentially, illegally install something that Building and Codes permits.

“That's bad,” Smith said. “So, we require a little due diligence from the contractor on the front end. If they're going to build a pool, above ground or otherwise, they have to do it in a way that is compliant with flood ways, setbacks, etc.”

As you might imagine there has been a tremendous amount of push-back, especially from the in-ground pool installers.

Smith said. “We are just enforcing the rules of the storm water management folks, who are technically part of the street department. Their rules state, by ordinance, no structure temporary or otherwise can be erected in a FEMA flood way, in a PU&DE, or in violation of setbacks. These setbacks and easements are necessary, anywhere you find phone lines, water lines, sewer lines, or storm drains.

“If we have to work on a utility, and now there is an in-ground pool built right next to a gas main, or an electric line in the protected easement, that pool might have to be demolished. That is not a cost that the utility company or the city would bear, sadly, it would be on the homeowner, who paid the contractor to do the job right.”

Smith shared an example, a situation that occurred recently. A firm out of Nashville sold an in-ground pool package to a homeowner for $120,000. They were proposing to build the pool