BY KAMERYN GRIESSER
What’s next
The big picture
Pool builders and pool owners agree the problem was likely preventable. “Texas is the wild, wild west when it comes to pool building,” Ford said. “Anyone can become a pool builder in Texas; you don’t need a license.” Armenta, who serves on the board of the Central Texas Pool and Hot Tub Alliance, PHTA, echoed the sentiment, explaining that a lack of education about ASR within the pool industry, combined with the state’s lax codes for pool concrete created the perfect storm at a time when demand for backyard recreation was at its highest. “At every step of the way, this problem was missed,” Armenta said, adding that he expects pool builders to start testing mixes and researching who they subcontract for work. Mike Church, CEO of Cody Pools, which built sev- eral of the pools affected by ASR, said the company “no longer uses the implicated shotcrete companies for fulfillment of customer orders.” Easy Mix and Hot Crete are among the shotcrete
companies involved in multiple lawsuits. Neither responded to a request for comment. Lovins, who represents parties on both sides of the issue, said if the current multidistrict litigation against Easy Mix—the largest ASR-related lawsuit to date with over 200 parties—is successful, involved pool owners could be compensated for the cost of their repairs. Those who purchased their home with a pool may not be as lucky when seeking litigation, Lovins said. Okkath, for example, said he is not entitled to the same lifetime warranty that the original builder had on his pool.
Round Rock, Pflugerville and Hutto city staff all said they haven’t heard any ASR- related concerns from residents, as city inspections do not test the concrete mixes of pools. There are also no changes to residential pool permitting planned. In a statement to Community Impact , the PHTA recommended homeowners with new pools or plans to build one ask their builder about inspections and construction details. AJ Miller, a pool owner turned ASR education advocate, recommends current pool owners search for testimonials on social media, where hundreds have shared their ASR stories. “You went from the pool being one of the best things to buy to now being terrified that this could happen to you,” Miller said. “It’s unfortunate, but really the only thing that we can do is look at the data and crowdsource this information.”
Pool permits approved Hundreds of pools were built in Round Rock, Georgetown and Pflugerville from 2017-23.
446 Georgetown
Pflugerville 803
677 Round Rock
SOURCE: CITY OF ROUND ROCK, CITY OF GEORGETOWN, CITY OF PFLUGERVILLE/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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