Catherine Sears
Business Operations Manager & Co-Owner, Aquatrace Swimming Pool Leak Detection
Most people who run the operations side of a service business work quietly in the background. Catherine Sears is no different — but the work she does is anything but invisible.
Today, Catherine manages the full business operation at Aquatrace, from the first client inquiry to the final closed job. Every quote sent, every report filed, every new client relationship built runs through her. She is the reason jobs move forward and clients feel taken care of from start to finish.
At Aquatrace, the goal is simple: give every pool owner a professional, responsive experience from the first call to the completed inspection — and Catherine makes that happen every single day.
A Different Kind of Background
Catherine didn’t set out to run a pool leak detection business. But looking back, it’s hard to say she wasn’t headed here all along.
She grew up around people who worked with their hands and took pride in what they built. A pool builder with nearly 50 years in the trade on one side, a welder with over 30 years on the other. Nobody handed her a business philosophy — she just watched the people around her show up, do the work, and stand behind it.
That stuck with her.
Today she handles the operational side of Aquatrace — client calls, quotes, scheduling, reports, follow-through. The work isn’t glamorous but it matters, and she treats every client interaction the same way she watched the people she grew up around treat their craft — with care, consistency, and a commitment to getting it right.
How Aquatrace Started
Aquatrace began over Memorial Day weekend in 2016 — at her stepfather’s pool.
Chris was there when her stepfather, a pool builder with decades of experience, asked a simple question: “Want to help me find a leak?” That afternoon changed the direction of both their lives, though neither of them knew it yet.
Catherine watched Chris discover something that afternoon that brought together everything he had spent years developing. She saw it clearly before he did — that this was something worth pursuing.
For the next several years Chris ran leak detection on the side while continuing his career in the low voltage trade. The decision to go full time wasn’t made alone. In March 2020, after praying it through together, Catherine and Chris made the call to leave that nearly 15-year career behind and build Aquatrace into what they both believed it could be.
That decision was as much hers as his.
The growth that followed was immediate. What began as a side operation became a full-time business serving hundreds of pool owners each year — and Catherine has been running the operational side of it ever since.
The SCUBA Advantage
Catherine earned her NAUI scuba certification in April 2021 alongside Chris as he completed his Master Diver certification. Her open water dives took place at three of North Florida’s most iconic sites — Devil’s Den, Ginnie Springs, and Fanning Springs.
That certification is more than a credential. It means that when a job calls for an underwater shell inspection — and some jobs do — Catherine can suit up and go in. Not every leak detection company can say that about their operations staff.
The ability to work both above and below the waterline sets Aquatrace apart from most competitors in its markets. When a leak is located in the floor, walls, or other submerged areas of a pool, the inspection has to go underwater. At Aquatrace, that capability exists across the entire team.
Beyond the work, scuba diving has become something Catherine and Chris share outside of the business as well — a hobby that most people only dream about, built on the same training that makes Aquatrace better at what it does every day.
What the Work Actually Means
Catherine sees it from a different angle than most — she’s the first voice many clients hear, and often the last one they deal with before a job is closed.
After years of client calls, quotes, and follow-through, she describes what pool owners are really looking for the same way almost every time: they don’t just want someone to find the leak. They want to feel like someone is actually handling it.
The relief comes from finally knowing where the water is going. The clarity comes from understanding what needs to happen next. The guessing is over, the uncertainty starts to fade, and the repair process can finally move forward with direction.
That is what Aquatrace aims to provide on every job — not just a diagnosis, but real answers delivered by real people who treat every client like they matter. For Catherine, that starts the moment the phone rings.
At its core, the work is about giving people peace of mind and helping them get back to enjoying their pool without the stress of unexplained water loss. Making sure that experience feels that way from start to finish is what Catherine is there for.
Service Areas
Catherine coordinates service for pool owners across all of Aquatrace’s active markets and surrounding regions.
In South Carolina, service extends across the entire Upstate region including Fair Play, Anderson, Greenville, Spartanburg, Seneca, Clemson, and the surrounding lake communities of Lake Hartwell and Lake Keowee. Along the coast, Aquatrace serves the Myrtle Beach area and the broader Grand Strand including Conway, North Myrtle Beach, and Horry County. In western North Carolina, the team serves communities including Asheville, Hendersonville, Fletcher, Franklin, and Barnardsville. In Georgia, service covers the northeast corridor from Atlanta through Athens, Watkinsville, Commerce, Toccoa, and Helen. In Florida, the team operates throughout north central Florida including Gainesville, Alachua County, Ocala, Newberry, High Springs, and surrounding communities.
When a call comes in from any of these areas, Catherine is typically the first point of contact — getting the job scheduled, the quote prepared, and the right technician dispatched so pool owners get answers as quickly as possible.
Core Markets
Fair Play, SC
Myrtle Beach, SC
Upstate South Carolina
Grand Strand, SC
Asheville, NC
Western North Carolina
Atlanta, GA
Northeast Georgia
Gainesville, FL
Alachua County, Florida
North Central Florida
Credentials & Background at a Glance
Catherine brings a professional background that spans healthcare, business operations, and trade experience — each chapter adding something different to how she runs the operational side of Aquatrace today.
Her foundation includes certification as a surgical technologist, with professional experience in the surgical and skin care field that built her attention to detail and ability to work in high-precision environments. Earlier in her career she worked in imports and exports coordination at West Point Stevens in Clemson, South Carolina, where logistics, documentation, and client communication were the core of the job. An accounting certificate rounds out her formal business training.
Combined with a lifetime of watching skilled tradespeople build and run businesses the right way, Catherine brings a level of operational depth to Aquatrace that goes well beyond answering phones and sending invoices.
At a glance:
Certified Surgical Technologist Imports and Exports Coordination — West Point Stevens, Clemson SC Accounting Certificate NAUI-Certified Scuba Diver Business Operations Manager and Co-Owner, Aquatrace Swimming Pool Leak Detection Lifelong connection to the pool and construction trades Serving pool owners across South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida
