Conceptually, swimming pools are pretty simple -- they're just big basins of water. But on a hot summer day, a swimming pool can seem like the greatest invention known to man. And as it turns out, there really is a lot of cool technology at work in your average pool -- much more than you might expect.

In this article, we'll find out how pools are built, and we'll take a look at the plumbing system that keeps the water clean and chemically balanced.


Special thanks to Drew Waskey and Triangle Pool Management for their assistance with this article.