Aleksandr Pavlov

Why waterfalls?

Water is part of my professional life. My work in water treatment involves understanding water quality, filtration, and the systems people rely on every day. I also write about these subjects on TrustWaterWell.

That interest extends beyond treatment systems to water in the natural world. Waterfalls offered a subject I wanted to explore and a useful challenge for my other specialisation: organising information on the web. Their names, locations, heights, seasonal flows, and access conditions all matter to someone trying to understand a place or plan a visit.

From an interest to a directory

I created Falls Discovery to bring that information together in a searchable directory of waterfalls across the United States. The goal is to help people find places, compare them, and learn more about what they might see.

The project also grows alongside a WordPress directory plugin I am developing. Working with real places and real publishing needs helps me improve the software behind the site, from maps and search to photographs and visitor contributions. You can find more of my development work at TheoCodewell.

I am responsible for the direction of Falls Discovery and for developing and maintaining the website. My aim is to build a resource that remains useful as its coverage grows.

How I approach the information

Falls Discovery draws on published geographic records, waterfall references, and information from parks and land managers. My water-treatment background explains my interest in the subject; the facts about individual waterfalls need their own supporting sources.

A directory entry should distinguish what is established from what remains uncertain. Published heights can disagree, names can refer to more than one place, and access conditions can change. My editorial aim is to make those distinctions clear and give readers a way to follow the sources behind the information.

A place for visitors to contribute

Published sources provide one perspective. People who have visited a waterfall can add another: a recent photograph, observations about the flow, or an account of the walk. Waterfall pages include a place to submit reviews and original photographs.

Submitted photos are reviewed before publication. With the contributor’s permission, they may also appear in the waterfall’s gallery. I would like these contributions to make the directory more useful over time, while keeping each visitor’s experience and credit attached to their contribution.

How I plan to support the project

Falls Discovery is an independently developed project. If it attracts a regular audience, I plan to introduce advertising to help cover hosting, maintenance, and further development. The purpose will remain the same: to make waterfall information easier to find and explore.