Having grown up swimming my entire life and getting back into the sport as an adult with the US Masters I have always been fascinated at the intersection of sustainable buildings and athletics. One such facility that has stepped up as a sustainable natatorium is the UC Davis Recreation Pool in Davis, CA. Davis, CA is located right outside of the states capital Sacramento and has mild winters with average highs in the mid-50’s in January and February (the dream).
The current UC Davis Rec Pool renovation has two new pools and several upgraded amenities replacing the original facilities that were built in 1966 with the recreation complex having been completed in June of 2019 obtaining a LEED Gold certification for New Construction. Improvements within the facility can be seen within the 3,300 square foot bath house and the 1,300 square foot filter building. On top of the complete overhaul of the restrooms, locker rooms and entrance ways some notable highlights of this project include the 28% savings in energy costs and reduction in GHG emissions according to the USGBC.
With the pools being outdoors and temperatures being colder during the winter months there was a lot of emphasis on energy savings when it comes to heating the pools. This was achieved through the use of a solar thermal system for the pool heating and building systems in order to reduce fossil fuel use. The project was also able to achieve a 7% offset of total energy costs through the production of renewable energy generated on-site allowing for a decrease in the need for fossil fuels. The renovation was able to achieve 19 out of the 19 credits in the Optimize Energy Performance category and achieved 4 out of a possible 7 points for On-Site Renewable Energy.
Water efficiency also had a large emphasis in this project seeing as pools consume a lot of water along with showers that people utilize before and after. The installation of low flow plumbing fixtures where able to contribute to a 35% reduction in water use while also having shower facilities and bicycle storage that serves 38% of occupants. Within the scorecard the facility was able to achieve 5 out 10 possible points with 2 out of the 4 points being achieved for water efficient landscape and 3 out of 4 points for water use reduction. The facility was unable to achieve any points for Innovative Wastewater technologies as is more difficult with the way that pools need to be filtered and maintained.
This facility was able to achieve four Regional Priority Credits for On-Site Renewable Energy, Site Selection, Development Density & Community Connectivity and Alternative Transportation- Public Transportation Access. These where achieved mainly due to the fact that the UC Davis Campus is very compact and allows for students and the community to easily utilize buses, bikes and walking as their means of transportation to the facility and have it centrally located within the campus. Another aspect that UC Davis has taken is the dedication from custodial services to adhere to LEED’s High Performance Green Cleaning Program that allows for the people utilizing the facility to remain healthy.
Interested in Learning More:
USGBC website: https://www.usgbc.org/projects/uc-davis-recreation-pool-renovation