Houston Swimming Pools – Current Thinking
There's something missing from a lot of pools. Sure, the designs are getting more elaborate. There are more high-tech features and automation devices available — and affordable — even in moderate price ranges. Faux rock, swim outs, fountains and jets and waterfalls, vanishing edges and slides. Around the pool and spa, grills, bars and furnished living spaces are commonplace. So what's missing from this total backyard retreat?

Swimming.
That's right, most residential pools are too small to really swim in. "There's so much cool technology in pools, like salt chlorinators and automatic covers and solar and all kinds of architectural and water-feature designs, and the thing that gets overlooked is the swimability of the water," says Peter Davidson, president of Current Systems, Calabasas, Calif., manufacturer of the Riverflow, a swimcurrent generating system."Swimming is one of the most popular sports," says James Murdoch, president of Endless Pools, Aston, Pa. "As we get older, we all recognize that need for aerobic activity, and swimming is the one that doesn't hurt your joints." But the vast majority of backyard pools are seen as a leisure amenity rather than a health and fitness product. "The average pool, 25 to 40 feet long, is just too short for effective lap swimming," says Davidson.

Value Added
Although they’ve been around for about 20 years, systems for swimming in place are catching on as the population becomes more interested in — and savvy about — health and fitness, and in particular, the enormous benefits of aquatic exercise. As customers start asking for functionality in addition to the inherent leisure benefits of a backyard pool, builders are starting to see the advantage of offering additional value and satisfaction to their clients.