Pool Water Features in The Hills, Texas

Who reviews a new pool water feature

The Village splits the work three ways. It handles common areas, wildlife, trash, law enforcement and the perimeter fence; the property owners association handles security, the entrance gates, architectural review and street paving; and Hurst Creek MUD handles water, sewer, irrigation water, drainage and plumbing inspections. The Village's own code lists only five sections under building regulations and mentions pools only in its noise rules, so who issues a building permit is a question to put to the Village before work starts.

Hurst Creek MUD's pool plumbing permit

The district's plumbing permit form, updated April 20, 2026, lists a pool permit at $300 and requires every swimming pool to have its own backflow prevention device, tested by a tester licensed by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The form is signed by a licensed plumber, and inspections are booked with the district's contracted inspector. Its drainage plan checklist also asks for every proposed and future pool to be shown on the plan.

The association's Architectural Committee

The association's home-improvement page names pools among the add-on projects that need Architectural Committee approval, while repairs in the same colors and materials need none, though a permit from another body may still apply. Its rule book, revised February 28, 2023, keeps every pool in-ground, with no prefabricated pools and no above-ground pools deeper than 18 inches; allows pools in setbacks only by variance and pool flatwork in a setback only with prior approval; wants exposed pool foundations and skirting to match the house's masonry; and asks for a fence plan with the pool plan.

Plans the rule book asks for

A pool site plan shows the distances from the water to the lot lines and the equipment enclosure, site access and debris removal, the construction type, the pool's size and depth, its edge details, and the decks, equipment, fencing and landscaping, with the equipment screened for both looks and noise; wood or plastic screening isn't approved. The mechanical plan gives the pool's volume, its flow rate in gallons per minute and its turnover in hours, the type and size of the filter and heater, and the layout of the main outlet, skimmers and inlets. The rule book's fee table lists a $5,000 total deposit for pools and spas, made up of $2,750 refundable, a $1,250 admin fee and a $1,000 road-use fee.

Sheer descents, deck jets and bubblers

Setting a waterfall in the bond beam

Pentair's waterfalls normally sit in the bond beam a little above the tile line, or higher up in a raised wall, and the design has to account for how thick the wall is, how thick its tile or stone facing is, and how heavy the concrete or stone cap above the unit will be. Installation starts with a notch in the bond beam and a level board fixed to the side of the pool, which serves as both guide and mortar dam. The unit is bedded flush with the board, the space under its lip is packed solid with mortar so the coping can't warp it, and the discharge edge stays at least 3/4 inch clear of the tile line. Curved units can't be cut on site; they come cut from the factory.

Flow, filtration and plumbing

Pentair's sizing is roughly 15 gallons a minute per foot of waterfall length, which puts a 3-foot unit at 45 gallons a minute; 10 per foot is the floor, though it may not give the look wanted. Every waterfall is fitted with a flow control valve of its own after the filter, on a 2-inch line. The feed comes from a cartridge filter of 20 microns or finer, not a DE or sand filter, because debris upsets the flow and the inside of a waterfall can't be cleaned, and the supply line is propped up rather than left hanging from the lip, where its joints can fail and leak. Since the association's mechanical plan already asks for flow rate and turnover, the feature's flow goes on that plan.

Deck jets and bubblers

Pentair's Deck Jet is cast into a concrete deck or the gunite sidewall and wired to the rebar so it can't shift when the concrete goes in, with a shield plug flush with the finished surface until the hardscape is done. With more than one jet, a ball valve on each balances flows so low that any difference in pipe length shows in the effect. A bubbler's plume height depends on water depth, nozzle size and flow, and Pentair treats its chart figures as a reference only.