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Building a Pool? What About the Dirt?

If you're installing an in-ground swimming pool in your backyard, you're going to end up with a lot of dirt after the digging is done. If you pay the contractors to remove it, they will have to take it out by the truckload, and it can get costly. Taunton's Pool Idea Book offers the following suggestion:

Instead of paying to have your excavated soil hauled away, recycle it. You might be able to use the dirt elsewhere in your landscape in order to "create rolling terrain or mounds, which are especially appropriate around a naturalistic pool or spa" (pg 19). Also, if you're thinking of installing a water garden replete with waterfall and stream, that excess dirt could come in handy. Waterfalls need elevated terrain to trickle down. You can also use the dirt to build up raised areas around the pool to act as a wind buffer for the swimmers.