Pool service in Austin

Austin Water's watering page sets the schedule for irrigation: automatic systems one day a week, hose-end sprinklers two days, and only between midnight and 10 a.m. or 7 p.m. and midnight. Ask Austin Water whether a pool refill is allowed under the current stage. Variances are available case by case, and breaking the restrictions can bring penalties of up to $1,000 per violation.

Before a pool company drains your pool for an acid wash or repair, ask it to confirm the current stage with Austin Water and whether the plan needs a variance. Stages change, so re-check the Find Your Watering Day page on the week of the job.

Hand-held hoses are exempt from the schedule. The variance types Austin Water lists include Health and Safety, Large Property and New Xeriscape Landscape, so ask whether one fits your project before the work is booked.

TDLR draws a clear line on the equipment pad. A Residential Appliance Installer License (RAIL) holder may install or replace pool pumps, motors, heaters, underwater lights, GFCIs and automation on the load side of the control center. If the equipment needs a new or upgraded line circuit, only a licensed electrical contractor with a designated master electrician may offer that work, and in Austin that contractor must also register with the city's Building and Trade Contractor Services before permit work starts. A dealer or manufacturer, or someone they authorize, may repair pool electrical devices with same-type, same-ampacity parts.

So when a variable-speed pump quote includes "new breaker and wiring," ask who holds the electrical license. See electricians in Austin for that half of the job.

Austin apartment and HOA pool rules

Texas's pool yard enclosure law, Health and Safety Code Chapter 757, covers pools at multiunit rental complexes and property owners associations, not ordinary backyard pools. Those enclosures must be at least 48 inches high, with gaps that won't pass a 4-inch sphere, and no chain link on enclosures built after January 1, 1994. Public pools and spas must be run by a certified operator, such as a PHTA Certified Pool Operator, and must use anti-entrapment drain covers under the federal Virginia Graeme Baker Act; a public pool with a single drain that can be blocked needs a secondary anti-entrapment system as well. In buildings first electrified on or after January 1, 1994, a door may not open straight into an apartment or HOA pool yard.

Pool houses and the Austin floodplain

A cabana or pool house is a building, so Austin's floodplain rules apply. The Floodplain Office (512-974-2843) prohibits buildings in the 25-year floodplain and restricts them in the 100-year floodplain, where slabs must sit at least 2 feet above the flood elevation and a site plan is required. Check the lot before the pool company draws the plans.

Austin quotes vary, so start from HomeGuide's national figures, from a page dated September 22, 2025:

• Weekly or bi-weekly cleaning: $80 to $150 a month, about $960 to $1,800 a year
• First-time cleaning visit: $150 to $350
• Pump motor repair: $50 to $300; replacement: $150 to $800

Expect sales tax on the bill. The Texas Comptroller treats pool maintenance as taxable at homes and businesses alike, including when a self-employed tech does it. For the full statewide picture see the Texas pool service guide; for the city rules every trade shares, see the Austin hub. To compare companies north of the city, see pool service in Cedar Park.