Engineering the Optimal Surf Lagoon with Myrtha Pools

When it comes to designing a piece of surf-anchored real estate, the surf lagoon sits at the center. It’s the massive investment that keeps the entire project afloat. 

For a better understanding of proper construction that avoids costly mistakes, Surf Park Central spoke with Matteo Bazzaro, the international business director for Myrtha Pools. The company has firsthand experience developing surf lagoons in the industry. 

Surf Park Central: How important is a well-constructed pool for the success of a surf park?

Matteo Bazzaro:

• The Foundation of the Business: In a surf park, the pool isn’t an amenity—it is the product. The entire business model, from ticketing to F&B, relies on the civil and structural engineering of the lagoon holding up under massive dynamic loads.
• Brand Reputation: Surfers are highly sensitive to wave quality. Any structural deflection, settling, or uneven bottom topography directly alters wave hydrodynamics, ruining the break and damaging the park’s reputation. A successful park requires a framework that guarantees accuracy, ensuring the wave technology performs exactly as the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) intended.
• Asset Protection: A well-constructed pool using advanced, industrial-grade materials ensures that your massive upfront capital investment doesn’t turn into a liability due to structural cracking, shifting, or catastrophic water loss.

Surf Park Central: How will a superior pool help surf park developers save money over time?

Bazzaro:

• Minimizing Unscheduled Downtime: For a surf park, a single day of closure during peak season can mean tens of thousands of dollars in lost revenue. Superior construction don’t suffer from the structural failures, micro-cracking, or plaster degradation that force traditional concrete lagoons into emergency drainage. 
• Drastic Water and Chemical Savings: A perfectly sealed, stable pool structure eliminates hidden leaks. Water loss from structural cracks doesn’t just spike water bills; it constantly introduces raw, unconditioned water, forcing you to use more chemicals to maintain balance.
• Reduced Lifecycle OPEX: Pre-engineered, high-tensile materials (like laminated stainless steel) resist the brutal mechanical stress of wave action far better than traditional concrete, leading to significantly lower ongoing maintenance costs over a 20, or 30-year lifecycle.

Surf Park Central: What common mistakes or challenges do surf park developers face?

Bazzaro:

• Underestimating Dynamic Fatigue: Treating a surf lagoon like a massive swimming pool is a critical error. The constant, repetitive kinetic energy of thousands of waves creates immense dynamic forces and soil fatigue that standard pool engineering isn’t designed to handle.
• Geotechnical & Groundwater Mismanagement: Large lagoons are highly susceptible to hydrostatic pressure from groundwater. If the pool structure isn’t engineered to handle high water tables, it can literally shift, crack, or float when emptied. The industry trend is moving toward flexible, high-strength modular steel structures that can absorb minor ground movements without losing structural integrity.
• Poor Modular Planning for Repairs: Developers often fail to plan for the reality of maintenance. If a minor repair requires draining a 10-million-gallon lagoon rather than a localized, phased approach, it becomes a financial disaster.

Surf Park Central: Do surf park pools require different liners or membranes than a standard pool at a water park or other destination?

Bazzaro:

• Absolutely. Standard pool liners are designed for static water. Surf park membranes must withstand extreme mechanical stress, high shear forces from moving water, and constant friction carried by the waves. The optimal solution isn’t a loose liner held down by water pressure, but rather a heavy-duty engineered system (e.g. structural steel core ). This creates a monolithic, hyper-durable surface that cannot billow, tear, or delaminate under wave action.
• Friction and Grip: The floor liner needs to offer specific slip-resistance properties for guest safety in shallow or zero-entry zones, without being too abrasive for surfers wiping out.
• Chemical and UV Resistance: Because of the massive surface area exposed to intense sunlight and constant aeration from waves, the wet areas require advanced UV stabilizers and high chlorine resistance to prevent premature chalking, fading, or embrittlement.

Surf Park Central: How should a proper liner be constructed?

Bazzaro:

• Heavy-Duty Structural Synergy: A proper liner shouldn’t act alone; it should be an integrated system. The gold standard is a thick, engineered system with rigid PVC hot laminated on a stainless steel core. This combines the absolute waterproofing of the membrane with the structural rigidity of steel.
• Secure Mechanical Anchoring & Thermal Welding: The system must be mechanically fastened and continuous. Continuous thermal PVC welding at the seams ensures a 100% watertight seal that handles the intense kinetic energy of the lagoon floor.
• Flexible Substrate Compatibility: By utilizing a modular steel backing, the entire basin gains the ability to flex slightly with seismic or ground movements, eliminating the cracking risks associated with resins, plastering or other coatings on rigid concrete.

Surf Park Central: How do pool membranes help with water quality?

Bazzaro:

• Non-Porous Surfaces: Unlike traditional plaster or shotcrete, which are highly porous and provide a breeding ground for black algae and bio-films, engineered membranes are smooth and non-porous. This prevents organic growth from taking root.
• Optimized Chemical Efficiency: Because the membrane doesn’t harbor bacteria or react chemically with the water (unlike concrete, which can constantly leech calcium and alter pH), chemical demand is significantly lower and water clarity is easier to maintain.
• Simplified Cleaning: Smooth membrane surfaces make automated vacuuming and mechanical brushing vastly more effective, ensuring that dirt and organic matter are easily swept into the filtration system.

Surf Park Central: What kind of maintenance goes into a pool to extend the lifecycle?

Bazzaro:

• Routine Under-Water Inspections: Regularly checking high-stress zones, seams, and anchoring points via commercial divers to catch minor wear before it becomes a structural issue.
• Phased Maintenance Planning: Designing a preventative maintenance schedule that addresses high-wear zones in planned phases during the off-season or off-operating hours, ideally avoiding a total lagoon drain.
• Water Chemistry Discipline: Maintaining strict control over LSI (Langelier Saturation Index) and sanitizer levels. Even the toughest materials will suffer shortened lifecycles if subjected to chronically aggressive or scaling water chemistry.
• Water Chemistry Discipline: Maintaining strict control over water balance. Even the toughest industrial materials will suffer shortened lifecycles if subjected to chronically aggressive water chemistry.

Surf Park Central: Is there anything else you would like to share that is beneficial to a surf park audience?

Bazzaro:

• “Think Like an Operator, Engineer Like an Institution:” When choosing your pool technology, look past the initial CAPEX. A cheaper civil concrete build might look attractive on day one, but when you factor in the speed of construction, precision of wave generation, and 20-year OPEX savings, pre-engineered modular technology wins every time.
• “Don’t reinvent the wheel”: co-work closely with Surf Park experts who have already designed and experienced the challenges. By partnering with seasoned surf park experts, who have already weathered the initial industry growing pains, you gain several massive advantages.
• The Bottom Line: You don’t need to be the pioneer who takes the arrows. Let the experts handle the established mechanics of wave generation and lagoon construction so you can focus your energy on what truly differentiates your venue: your local community, your brand, and your unique guest experience.

Learn more about the approach at this year’s Surf Park Summit.