The Project
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Idaho Underwater is being developed in four phases. Phase I was creating a design concept document with Cole Architects. This phase established the critical pool characteristics for filtering and heating the 1.62 million gallons of water. An approximately 30,000+ square foot building will house the 32 meter or approximately 105’ deep, warm water diving pool. The concept design document is available upon request.
Phase II is the land purchase and the creation of the marketing plan. This phase is estimated at $5 million.
Phase III is the construction design documents needed for building the facility. This funding phase is set at $8 million.
Phase III is the actual facility construction and beginning operational costs, estimated at $35 million. Funding for this phase will begin half-way through Phase III.
Diving Pool Features
The proposed Diving Pool is designed to be 80 feet in diameter at the surface with depths ranging from 0 feet, 0 inches (0 meters) to 105 feet, 0 inches (32+ meters). The Diving Pool will be comprised of the following four sections.
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The construction of the Diving Pool will include an extensive excavation effort which is anticipated to require a minimum 1:1 layback of the adjacent soils and an integrated truck roadway to the bottom of the excavation. A portion of the excavated soils will remain onsite to be placed and recompacted at new grades as the pool shell is constructed. The remaining soils excavated will require off-hauling or be placed within the existing site as a part of landscaping features. A preliminary estimate indicates that approximately 100,000 cubic yards of soils will need to be excavated, with approximately 75,000 cubic yards off hauled or relocated onsite, and 25,000 cubic yards placed and recompacted within the footprint of the building.
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Outer Pool Structure
The outer structure of the Diving Pool will consist of the exterior walls and floors of the pool that come into contact with soils and therefore must retain pressures from these soils. The waterproofed outer shell will be constructed of reinforced concrete. It is anticipated that the thickness of the vertical walls of the outer shell will be approximately 1 foot at shallower depths and will increase to approximately 6 feet at the lowest point of the structure. A thickened foundation will be at the base of the pool. It is anticipated that the entire outer structure will be cast-in-place concrete using formwork. The outer structure will be outfitted with structural framing clad with modular vinyl tiling, providing a chase for conduits and piping. This system will be referred to as the Modular Finish System.
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Interior Pool Structure
The interior pool structure, including the Main Arcade (3 feet 6 inches to 33 feet) and the upper portion of the Inner Ring (33 ft to 72 ft) will be constructed entirely of the Modular Finish System to reduce weights. The structure will be supported with stainless steel framing or structural vinyl framing which will then be clad with modular vinyl tiling and custom components that create the intricate finishes for the interior structures. The vinyl tiling will create the environments and provide anchor points for environmental features (skis, gold bars, stalactites, etc.).
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These structures will be primarily hollow, providing a chase for conduits and piping. Due to the large depths of the pool and implications for repair and replacement of conduits, piping, valves, and features, providing a structure with a modular, removable, and replaceable cladding as a finish will allow for conduits and piping to be concealed and inaccessible to divers while providing the staff the ability to repair or replace these items from within the Diving Pool outer structures. Penetrations through the outer structure will be minimized.
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Water Recirculation
The first component to address is the recirculation of the approximately 1.62 million gallons of water in the Diving Pool. Water will be conveyed from the Diving Pool to the Equipment Room, through water treatment systems and returned to the Diving Pool utilizing PVC piping and multiple centrifugal pumps.
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The rate at which the system will recirculate water is based upon the volume of the Diving Pool and its designed turnover rate. A turnover rate of a swimming pool is the time it takes for a volume equivalent to the size of the swimming pool to pass through the water treatment system. This system will be designed to provide a turnover rate of 6 hours. Every 6 hours, 1.62 million gallons will circulate through the filtration and water treatment systems and return to the Diving Pool. This equates to a recirculation rate of 4,500 gallons per minute (gpm).