Hear from Our Customers
From May through October, Southeast Georgia doesn’t let you forget it’s there. The heat, the humidity, the kind of summer afternoons that push everyone inside a well-built inground pool changes all of that. It turns your backyard into the place your family actually wants to be, instead of somewhere you pass through on the way to the air conditioning.
Out here along the US-1 corridor north of Waycross, most properties have real space to work with. That means you’re not forced into a shape that barely fits between fence lines. A concrete pool can be designed around your land your trees, your grade, your vision instead of asking your land to accommodate a factory mold. That’s a different conversation than what fiberglass contractors are having.
And because this pool will run hard for eight-plus months a year, the build quality matters more than it would somewhere with a three-month season. The structural decisions made during construction rebar density, gunite thickness, hydraulic balance are the ones that determine whether this investment holds up for 30 years or starts showing problems in five. Getting it right the first time isn’t a sales pitch. It’s just math.
We build custom concrete inground pools across Southeast Georgia, and Ware County is home turf. The coastal plain soils, the drainage patterns, the water table considerations that come with building near the Okefenokee ecosystem these aren’t things we read about. They’re things we’ve worked through on actual job sites in Dixie Union and throughout this region.
Being locally owned means our name is attached to every pool we build, in the same communities where we live and work. There’s no franchise buffer, no national brand absorbing accountability. When you hire Deep Waters, you’re hiring a team that has something real at stake in your outcome.
We pull every permit, coordinate every phase, and stay reachable from the first conversation to the day you swim. That’s not a policy it’s just how a locally operated business has to operate to keep its reputation intact in a place where word travels fast.
It starts with a real conversation about your property and what you want. We look at your site, talk through your layout options, and put together a scope of work that covers everything before a contract gets signed. No vague estimates, no line items that mysteriously grow later. If something about your site soil conditions, drainage, setbacks from your septic system could affect cost or timeline, we tell you upfront.
From there, we handle the permit process through Ware County’s Planning and Codes department. In unincorporated areas like Dixie Union, that’s a county-level process, not a city building department, and it has its own timeline. We’ve been through it. We know what to expect, and we build that into the project schedule so it doesn’t catch anyone off guard.
Once permits are in hand, construction moves in a clear sequence excavation, shell, plumbing, electrical, decking, finish. Payments are tied to completed milestones you can see and verify, not to a payment schedule that front-loads your money before the work is done. The goal is a finished pool that performs exactly the way it was designed to, the first time built for the long Southeast Georgia swim season you’re about to start using it for.
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Every pool we build is concrete gunite or shotcrete which means the design starts with what you want, not with what a manufacturer happened to produce. Freeform shapes, geometric layouts, attached spas, tanning ledges, custom depths all of it is on the table because concrete doesn’t have a catalog. For homeowners in rural Ware County sitting on a half-acre or more, that design freedom is the whole point.
The equipment we specify is chosen for pools that actually get used. Variable-speed pumps, properly sized filtration, and energy-efficient circulation systems reduce operating costs by a significant margin compared to older single-speed setups which matters when your pool is running eight months out of the year. The upfront equipment investment pays for itself over time, and it makes the pool quieter, easier to maintain, and more enjoyable to own.
Every project includes full permit compliance under Georgia’s mandatory statewide swimming pool code, federal anti-entrapment drain cover requirements, and all applicable Ware County construction standards. Licensed plumbing and electrical work is part of every build not an upsell, not an optional add-on. The pool you get is one you can insure, one that passes inspection, and one that won’t create legal or resale complications down the road.
Yes and any contractor who tells you otherwise is putting you at serious risk. In Dixie Union, which is unincorporated Ware County, pool construction permits are handled through the Ware County Planning and Codes department rather than a city building office. Georgia also enforces a mandatory statewide swimming pool code that applies to all construction regardless of whether you’re inside city limits or not, so there’s no workaround based on location.
A pool built without permits creates real problems: insurance complications, potential issues with your homeowner’s policy, and liability exposure if something goes wrong during construction. When it comes time to sell, an unpermitted pool can complicate or kill a sale entirely. We pull every required permit on every project. It’s part of the process, built into the timeline from the start not something that gets sorted out after the fact.
Most custom concrete pool projects in the Ware County area run between 10 and 16 weeks from permit approval to finished pool, depending on scope, site conditions, and scheduling. The permit process through Ware County’s Planning and Codes department adds time at the front end typically two to four weeks so the total timeline from signing a contract to swimming is often closer to four to five months when you factor everything in.
The best move if you want a pool ready for summer is to start the conversation in fall or winter. Homeowners in Dixie Union who reach out in March are often surprised to find that quality contractors are already booked well into the season. Starting in October or November gives you the permit runway, the construction window, and the buffer for any weather delays before the Georgia heat kicks back in. Southeast Georgia’s mild winters actually allow construction to continue year-round, which is an advantage but that only helps if you’re in the queue early enough to use it.
Fiberglass pools come in fixed shapes and sizes determined by the manufacturer. If your property fits one of those shapes, fiberglass can work. But for homeowners in rural Ware County with larger lots, irregular terrain, mature trees, or a specific vision for their backyard, a factory mold is a real constraint. Concrete has no catalog. The pool is designed around your land and your preferences not the other way around.
There’s also a durability argument specific to this region. The coastal plain soils around Dixie Union and Ware County, combined with the proximity to the Okefenokee’s wetland ecosystem, create site conditions that experienced local contractors know how to engineer around. A properly built concrete shell, designed with local soil and drainage in mind, performs reliably for decades. The key word is “properly” which is why the contractor’s experience in this specific geography matters as much as the material itself.
A custom concrete inground pool in the Waycross and Ware County area typically runs between $65,000 and $110,000 depending on size, shape, features, and equipment. A straightforward rectangular pool with standard finishes and basic equipment sits toward the lower end. Add a freeform shape, an attached spa, a tanning ledge, upgraded decking, or premium equipment, and the number moves up accordingly.
What drives cost more than anything else is scope what you’re actually building. Site-specific factors like access for excavation equipment, drainage requirements, and distance from utilities can also affect the final number. That’s why a real site visit and a detailed written scope matter before you commit to anything. A bid that doesn’t account for your specific property isn’t a real bid it’s a starting point that will grow through change orders. We put together a comprehensive scope before the contract is signed so you know what you’re agreeing to.
There are a few things worth verifying before you sign anything. First, confirm the contractor holds a valid Georgia state contractor’s license this is verifiable through the Georgia Secretary of State’s licensing portal. Second, ask for proof of general liability insurance and workers’ compensation coverage. Without workers’ comp, you as the homeowner can be held liable if a worker is injured on your property. These aren’t formalities they’re your financial protection.
Beyond paperwork, ask for local references. Not a list of testimonials on a website actual homeowners in the Ware County or Waycross area who you can call and ask about their experience. In a community like Dixie Union, a contractor who has built pools nearby and will connect you with those homeowners is a contractor who stands behind their work. If they can’t or won’t provide local references, that tells you something too.
For most homeowners in the Dixie Union area, the answer is yes but the reasoning matters. A pool in Southeast Georgia isn’t a seasonal amenity. With a swim season that runs from April through October, and often beyond, a well-built pool becomes a primary outdoor living space that your household uses for more than half the year. That level of use changes the value calculation compared to a pool in a northern state that sits covered for six months.
From a property standpoint, a permitted, professionally built concrete pool adds real value to a rural Ware County property particularly as the area sees ongoing investment and development activity. The key qualifier is “permitted and professionally built.” An unpermitted pool or a pool with structural issues can actually complicate a sale rather than help it. The investment pays off when it’s done right which circles back to choosing a contractor who builds to last, not just to pass inspection.
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