- July 20, 2026
Dan Priotti, owner and operator of Agua Construction in Bunnell, grew up with a father in construction and that is when his love for that line of work began. Priotti’s father acted as a superintendent on large commercial jobs, and would bring Priotti along with him as a young child.
Priotti moved to the Flagler County area at age 21 from New York. He fell in love with the area after visiting Palm Coast with his father for a weekend back in 1996 at age 19. Agua Construction was created in 2013 and has been in business ever since.
"Immediately, I knew this is where I wanted to be,” Priotti said. "There was nothing here, and I saw a lot of potential.”
Priotti is licensed as a certified pool contractor and certified general contractor, which means he can also build homes. He does about one to two homes a year, while mostly focusing on the building and design of pools. Priotti generally serves the areas of Flagler County, St. Augustine, and Ormond Beach, and has been in the business on his own for over 25 years.
Agua Construction specializes in gunite pools and is able to customize each pool to a customer’s standards. “He takes a lot of pride in construction and how things are built,” said Marcel Oleas, who does the internet marketing for Priotti’s company.
Priotti also specializes in the use of travertine pavers, which he says increases the value of homes. The travertine stays cool in the Florida heat, unlike normal concrete pavers. In addition, since Priotti is handicapped, he began making pools and homes handicap accessible for fellow handicapped individuals.
Before fully settling into Palm Coast, Priotti served in the United States Army for around two years, as an airborne paratrooper. Upon returning to Florida, Priotti began working at a local pool supply store in his early 20s. Following his time at the local pool supply store, Priotti started working under a builder for about a year, and ultimately, decided to go off on his own as a pool contractor.
“I built one pool from the ground up on my own, and I pretty much knew right then and there that this was what I was going to be doing,” Priotti said.
Following the building of his first pool, Priotti was unfortunately in a serious car accident in March of 2002, which resulted in paralyzation. Furthermore, Priotti remains in a wheelchair to this day, but that does not get in the way of his work.
In 2008, the economy caused Priotti to shut down his first company. In 2011, Priotti went off to obtain his construction management degree from Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville.
“I grabbed all my books to take the general contractor’s exam, and I passed it the first time and then came back here to start building pools right away,” Priotti said.
Since it has become public knowledge at this point, Priotti finds it important to clear up some of his past legal troubles, which he says are self-inflicted. Priotti obtained a few DUIs, and was, as he describes it, a “binge drinker." But, Priotti has been sober seven years now. He would like to thank his friend, and former Flagler County Commissioner Joe Mullins for leading him to a life of sobriety by introducing AA to him.
Priotti says Mullins “reached out to me for around 10 months and began planting the seed of AA in me.”
Once Priotti began attending the Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, he soon found out what a binge drinker was, and that he was one.
“I do have some DUIs. I’m not ashamed of them; it is what happened, it is what made me who I am today,” Priotti said. His last DUI was in 2019.
After Priotti started attending AA meetings, he found the right thing to do was to seek further counseling.
"I went into counseling to understand my flaws, my character defects,” Priotti said.
Trauma counseling assisted Priotti through his recovery, while also uncovering things that were triggering for him, stemming from his childhood.
Priotti says he attracts more like-minded individuals now, as he has learned to get away from the toxic lifestyle he lived. "You learn to start cutting the toxic people out of your life, whether they're friends or family," Priotti said.
Agua Construction’s office manager, Donna Steger, said, “After a series of bad decisions and circumstances as a younger man, Dan has, in the last seven years, put into perspective what is really important, and what he wants out of life to be a better person.”
Throughout the month of July, to celebrate America's 250th birthday, Agua Construction is offering a special, which includes the building of a luxury pool for $67,000. More information regarding the July special can be found on their website, at www.aguaconstruction.com.
As the owner, Priotti remains hands-on throughout every project, working closely with his team to ensure each customer’s needs are handled with care, craftsmanship, and attention to detail.
For new customers ready to bring their backyard vision to life, Priotti encourages them to call the Agua Construction office at 386-246-7212. Agua Construction is located at 2550 N State St., Suite 14, in Bunnell.
