Why Holladay pools need more than a dump-and-fill
Pulling out a pool is the easy part. What matters is the ground left behind, because it has to carry a lawn, a patio, or a whole new building for decades. A pool that is crushed in place and covered with loose dirt can keep settling for years, leaving sinkholes, standing water, and cracked slabs.
The ground under most Holladay yards is east bench cobble and sand. Gravel drains well, but loose gravel and cobble don't hold a steep cut, and they won't lock together unless the fill is compacted layer by layer.
The benches here are old shorelines of Lake Bonneville, the Ice Age lake that once covered much of northern Utah. Its beaches left sand and gravel on the benches, while fine clay and silt settled on the old lakebed that is now the valley floor. Two pools a mile apart can sit in completely different ground, which is why we don't use one backfill plan for the whole valley.
Backfill and drainage in Holladay
Spring runoff from Mount Olympus: that's the site condition we plan around first in Holladay, because it shapes how we dig, drain, and fill the hole. For the backfill itself, we place fill in thin lifts and compact each one to 95% of its maximum dry density under the Modified Proctor test (ASTM D1557), the standard engineers use for ground that will carry structures.
Building where the pool was
In Holladay, a big part of what's driving pool removals is luxury lot repurposing for sports courts. If an ADU, garage, or addition is going where the pool was, the ground under its footings has to be solid. A partial removal leaves broken concrete in the ground, which works under a lawn but is a poor base for a foundation. For any structure, we recommend full removal with compaction that can be tested and documented for your permit.
Engineers and building departments commonly call for fill under new footings to be compacted to at least 95% of the Modified Proctor maximum dry density (ASTM D1557), confirmed with field density tests as each lift goes in. That's already the spec we build to here, so the old pool site is ready for the testing your ADU permit may require.
Water, utilities, and selling your home
Before demolition, the pool has to be drained legally. The rule we follow in Holladay: De-chlorinate below 0.1 ppm before storm drain discharge; max 30 GPM. Some cities send pool water to the sanitary sewer instead of the storm drain, so we confirm which applies before the pump goes in.
Most in-ground pools also have a gas heater and a dedicated electrical sub-panel.Utilities in Holladay are Enbridge Gas Utah (formerly Dominion Energy) gas and Rocky Mountain Power electric. Licensed trades cap the gas line and lock out the pool circuits before the excavator arrives.
If you plan to sell, the paperwork matters too. The Utah Seller's Property Condition Disclosure asks sellers to disclose known buried debris, fill, and settling. A partial fill-in leaves broken concrete in the ground, and a buyer's inspector or lender may flag it. Full removal with a compaction report gives you documentation instead of a disclosure question.
Permits and disposal in Salt Lake County
Holladay is in Salt Lake County. One local hurdle to plan for: Salt Lake County Health Department (SLCoHD) Pre-Demolition Asbestos Inspection. We go over it during the free site visit and build it into the schedule, so it doesn't stall the job halfway through. Debris from Holladay jobs is hauled to Salt Lake Valley Landfill, and clean concrete from full removals goes to recycling.
Older pools can contain asbestos in places you wouldn't expect, such as some plaster finishes, deck and coping materials, and asbestos-cement drain or return pipes. Before any concrete is broken, a Utah-certified asbestos inspector checks the pool and deck. If anything turns up, a licensed abatement contractor removes it before demolition starts, and that step is scheduled ahead of time so the job doesn't stall.