New Improvements to Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatics Center

The Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center (WKCAC) is a world-class facility located in Federal Way, WA, that has hosted everything from U.S. Olympic Diving Trials to lessons for the youngest swimmers in the neighborhood. The facility is more than 30 years old, and many systems need replacement or upgrades to keep the WKCAC serving athletes of all ages and abilities for decades to come.

For the past two years, crews have worked hard to do these improvements during the annual end-of summer closures. The competition pool and dive tank programs are now open, with recreation programs resuming Monday, October 2, 2023.

The first phase of work in 2022 included resurfacing the pool decks with non-slip surfaces, resurfacing the dive tank bottom liner as well as replacing elevator equipment to improve ADA accessibility.

This summer, a huge endeavor took place to upgrade the WKCAC’s Recreation Pool HVAC and water heating systems. Lighting in the main competition natatorium was replaced with a high performance, energy-efficient LED system. This involved crews working up on the facility’s “catwalk,” a series of metal walkways hanging from the ceiling of the 55-foot-tall atrium! The lights are responsive to the amount of natural light coming in from the skylights above, saving energy and improving the vision quality for swimmers.

These projects save energy, reduce the facility’s carbon footprint, lower maintenance costs, improve ADA accessibility, and replace materials and systems that are at the end of their useful life. All of this makes it possible for the WKCAC to continue to serve people in aquatic recreation as well as more unusual uses like underwater robotics competitions for students and regional police and fire rescue training, while continuing to attract the high-level competitions that the facility has hosted since it opened in 1990.