Join Waitsburg Parks and Rec in Bringing A Pool Back to Our Community

Donations are accepted by the Friends of the Waitsburg Pool, through Rural Youth Enrichment Services, a 501c3 nonprofit.

In 2022, the city of Waitsburg decommissioned its 100-year-old pool because of structural damage it incurred. An architectural assessment found the pool’s structure, plumbing, and outbuildings had far exceeded their anticipated life expectancy and should be replaced. The pool was built in 1925, with significant renovations in the 1970s and mid-1990s. 

Despite community efforts to sustain the pool, its location and age were found to be undermining the pool’s structural integrity and the pool was closed.   

The Waitsburg Parks and Recreation District subsequently surveyed district residents in 2022 and 2023 asking what its No. 1 priority should be. The community response was overwhelmingly consistent, “build a new pool.” 

As a result, Waitsburg Parks and Recreation, a junior taxing district of Walla Walla County, in partnership with the Friends of the Waitsburg Pool, Rural Youth Enrichment Services, city of Waitsburg, Waitsburg Commercial Club and the Walla Walla YMCA, rallied energetic volunteers and is tackling this 5-year project. 

Waitsburg residents, the late Dr. and Mrs. Roger Hevel, generously donated funds to pay for swimming lessons for all children in Waitsburg because of how dangerous it is for children to swim in the nearby Touchet River. Unfortunately, this community safety benefit is forfeited right now because our pool is closed. The city of Waitsburg has reimbursed part of the cost of pool passes for Waitsburg families at Prescott or Walla Walla pools. 

The American Academy of Pediatrics reports drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1-4 and a top cause of teen deaths. Drownings in Washington exceed the national average and are highest for 15- to 24-year olds living in poverty. In the summer, we would like our children to spend time at the community pool because open bodies of water have hazards like dangerous currents, sudden drop-offs and debris. Over 90% of drowning deaths occur in rivers, wells, irrigation ditches, storage vessels and pools in low- and middle-income areas where travel distances for emergency care lead to more severe outcomes like disability or death. This health risk is mitigated with investment in community pools and water competency programs. 

Swimming lessons decrease drowning risk by up to 88%. Children who learn to swim build confidence, endurance, muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness; they maintain a healthy weight, improve heart and lung health, and reduce chronic disease. First Aid/CPR training helps area teens qualify as lifeguards and swim instructors, which supports the community’s social fabric and provides jobs in the community. The outcomes are improved skills and health, workforce development and a sustainable program that contributes to the town's economic resilience.  

• The Friends of the Waitsburg Pool have privately raised $89,447 as of December 2024 to fund feasibility work and engineering of the project.
• The local YMCA has leant the expertise of its certified aquatics facility director and pool operator who are providing insight on pool features and their impact on future staff training and staffing. 
• The Parks and Rec district has applied for numerous grants to fund the pool project and will continue to do so throughout the project.  

In 2024, the district hired PBS Engineering and Environmental in Walla Walla and national aquatics firm WTI, who made a site visit to perform an assessment for the existing pool and provided a Waitsburg Outdoor Pool Evaluation report.

WTI estimated the cost to repair the existing pool at $1.2 million to $1.8 million. This does not address ADA issues, nor elevating the equipment and changing room buildings out of FEMA’s current flood boundary. 

Fixing the pool is not a wise move because the cost is similar to replacement - we would like a new pool to last us another 100 years. Flood plain issues are also a factor in this decision that the pool cannot be built in the current location. 

Feasibility study results from PBS show it is likely the community can build a new Waitsburg pool at an alternate site on the north side of the Touchet River, and the Waitsburg Parks and Recreation District voted unanimously to move forward in pursuing building on the north site at its Jan. 2, 2025, meeting. 

Building a pool up to code cannot occur if the site is in a flood plain, feasibility study results showed, and the current pool location and the alternate site to the west are both in the flood plain without realistic opportunities to remove them from the flood plain. The site to the north is also in the flood plain on FEMA’s map, but the engineer said it is possible to work through the FEMA procedure of the design and formal map revision process to make it a viable pool site.  

The topography on the north side of the river is higher than the south side. Through initial topographical survey, certified flood plain determination and hydraulic modeling of the Touchet River at the proposed north pool site, the professional team will make a better-informed recommendation on the site’s viability. 

We are looking to build a new lap pool, approximately 3,400 square feet with water depth of 3-feet, 6-inches to 7 feet. It will have six lap lanes with starting platforms, a shallow water program area and new wading pool, approximately 1,000 square feet, and interactive water sprays.

Construction cost of a new pool is $1.7 million to $2.4 million. 

The current cost proposal does not include replacement of the bathhouse/buildings, mechanical rooms, site work, excavation, site drainage, utilities, decks, walkways, landscaping, lighting and fences.

With the results of the feasibility study, the next steps will be additional architectural engineering for the dressing rooms and mechanical room, the flood plain certificate, Conditional Letter of Map Revision and a Letter of Map Revision, hydraulic modeling, determining real costs of construction, and images and renderings, which will really bring our project to life.

You can support this important project by donating to Friends of the Waitsburg Pool on the Rural Youth Enrichment Services website.