Danville, Indiana | Completed November 2025
–by Sam Blake, Landmark Aquatic
A Growing Community Needed More
At Danville High School in Danville, Ind., the school’s aquatic program had long operated under constraints that were becoming impossible to ignore. The existing pool—aging in both infrastructure and design—was struggling to keep pace with the demands of a growing student population, an increasingly competitive swim program, and modern expectations for safety, efficiency, and accessibility. Built over 40 years ago, the pool had served its purpose but was clearly an outdated natatorium with older systems and equipment. Additionally, the pool itself was no longer large enough to meet the current needs of the aquatic athletics of the high school.
For aquatic facility managers, the scenario will seem familiar: equipment that requires ever-more-frequent repair, water chemistry systems that demand constant manual attention, an aging mechanical room that quietly drains maintenance budgets, and pool surfaces showing the wear of decades of use. For Danville, the calculus eventually became clear—the cost and disruption of perpetual repairs could no longer justify delaying a full replacement.
The Danville community has grown exponentially over the last decade, requiring that the entire high school expand in order to accommodate more classrooms. The original swimming pool was on the interior of the high school and was therefore converted into much needed classroom space. It made sense to build a new natatorium that allowed the school to build a modern, energy-efficient, eco-friendly aquatic facility where the school’s swim and diving teams can train and compete as well as well allowing the high school to host larger swim meets and diving competitions for both high school and swim clubs.
Beyond the immediate mechanical concerns, the old facility had simply been outgrown. PE class enrollment had increased, the competitive swimming and diving program had expanded, and the community expected a space that reflected the school’s broader investment in student athletics. A larger, fully modern natatorium was not a luxury—it was a necessity.
Building Smart: Coordination, Budget, and Innovation
Replacing a high school natatorium is never a simple undertaking. The Danville project presented a distinct set of challenges that required careful coordination among the project’s core team: architect Barton Coe Vilamaa, construction manager Meyer Najem, and pool consultant Landmark Aquatic.
The most technically demanding challenge of the project was the coordination of structural steel for the spot rigging system—an advanced piece of equipment used to support divers during training. Unlike a standard diving board installation, a spot rigging system requires overhead structural steel to be precisely positioned and engineered to handle dynamic loads. Getting that coordination right between the structural engineer, architect, and aquatic contractor demanded exceptional planning and communication.
Budget management and phasing are common pressure points in projects of this scale. A key factor in securing buy-in from the school administration was demonstrating that the new facility’s design would deliver long-term operational savings through the integration of modern, high-efficiency systems and the latest available technology.
Creating a State-of-the-Art Competition Pool
As mentioned earlier, the original swimming pool was located in the interior of the school and was converted into much-needed classroom space. Fortunately, the school had sufficient land to build an entirely new natatorium, allowing it to expand its competitive swimming capabilities. The previous pool was a 6-lane, 25-yard competition pool of approximately 3,375 square feet, holding 176,175 gallons of water. The new pool grew to 8-lanes and approximately 7,554 square feet in size, a depth range of 4 feet to 12 feet 6 inches, holding 450,073 gallons and featuring a moveable bulkhead. The new pool meets all IHSAA, USA Swimming, and FINA standards for both competitive swimming and diving/springboards. The new design accommodates a competition pool and a dedicated diving well side-by-side, giving the school the flexibility to run simultaneous programming across competitive and recreational programs.
The stainless-steel, moveable bulkhead system from Paddock Industries provides one of the facility’s most operationally valuable features: the ability to divide and reconfigure the pool for multiple simultaneous uses. On a single afternoon, the pool can host a varsity swim practice at one end, a physical education class in the middle, and open recreation at the other—dramatically improving the facility’s programming capacity and return on investment.
Next-Generation Water Filtration and Treatment
The mechanical heart of the new natatorium is a Neptune Benson Defender Regenerative Media Filter (RMF) system—a technology that represents a meaningful step forward from conventional sand filtration. Regenerative media filtration delivers superior water clarity at lower operational cost, with reduced backwash water consumption and a smaller physical footprint in the pump room.
The old pool used high-rate sand filters, which were the standard 40 years ago. However, those older sand filters uses a tremendous amount of water when backwashing and were not providing the water clarity desired by the swim teams. The new RMF filters no longer consume and waste that water and the water clarity is now crystal clear.
Water sanitation is handled by an ETS medium-pressure UV system working in combination with a BECS chemical controller and Solenis Pulsar chlorine feed system. The UV system is designed to neutralize chlorine-resistant pathogens that conventional chemical treatment alone cannot address, while simultaneously reducing chloramine formation that degrades indoor air quality and irritates swimmers’ eyes and skin. The BECS controller provides real-time monitoring and automated chemical dosing, removing the variability of manual testing and reducing chemical waste. Most importantly, the system monitors and controls everything from chlorine and pH to auto filling of the pool, water temperature, flow control and the speed of the pumps and pressure gauges in the filtration. If any part of the system goes out of the set parameters, the system immediately alerts the facility managers that there is an issue.
High-Efficiency Systems Built to Save
Variable frequency drives (VFDs) were installed on the primary circulation pumps—a now-standard best practice in modern aquatic facilities that can reduce pump motor energy consumption by 30 to 50%compared to fixed-speed operation. By modulating pump speed to match actual flow demand rather than running at full capacity continuously, VFDs significantly reduce electricity costs over the life of the facility.
Water heating is provided by a Lochinvar Aquas high-efficiency condensing heater—a unit designed specifically for the demanding requirements of natatorium applications, where large volumes of water must be heated efficiently and reliably regardless of seasonal ambient temperatures. High-efficiency condensing heaters recover heat from flue gases that would otherwise be lost, delivering substantially higher thermal efficiency than conventional atmospheric heaters.
Cleaner Air for Swimmers and Spectators
One of the most notable and forward-thinking elements of the Danville natatorium is the installation of a Paddock Industries Evacuator gutter system—a technology that directly addresses one of the most persistent and often underappreciated challenges in indoor aquatic environments: air quality.
In a conventional natatorium, chloramines—the irritating byproduct of chlorine reacting with swimmer-introduced contaminants such as perspiration, urine, and body oils—tend to accumulate in a dense layer just above the water surface. Traditional HVAC systems often struggle to capture and exhaust these compounds before they reach swimmers, spectators, and staff, contributing to the respiratory irritation, skin and eye discomfort, and characteristic ‘chlorine smell’ that has long been associated with indoor pools.
The Evacuator gutter system works by drawing air from the pool surface—precisely where chloramine concentration is highest—and routing it through the exhaust system before it can migrate into the breathing zone. The result is a measurably cleaner air environment that benefits everyone in the building.
Elevating the Diving Program
Among the features that most clearly signal the ambition of this project is the inclusion of a spot rigging system for diving training—a piece of equipment rarely seen at the high school level. A spot rigging system consists of an overhead rigging apparatus that allows a coach or spotter to support a diver on a safety harness while they attempt new dives or work through technique progressions, dramatically reducing the risk of injury during skill development.
The facility is equipped with Durafirm 1M and 3M dive stands—commercial-grade platforms designed for competitive diving programs—alongside Spectrum Aquatics starting blocks for swim competition. A Colorado Timing system and videoboard complete the competition infrastructure, positioning the facility to host sanctioned meets.
Welcoming Every Athlete and Fan
The new natatorium was designed with universal accessibility as a foundational principle. An ADA-compliant pool access lift ensures that students and community members of all abilities can participate in aquatic programming—an important consideration for a facility that will serve not only competitive athletes but also physical education students and the broader community.
“We are very excited about our new pool facility. This facility will serve several purposes including competitive and club swim space, high school instructional space, and as an aquatic community center for all ages,” said Matt Clodfelter, principal at Danville High School. “Our new facility, designed and built by Landmark Aquatic, uniquely blends our varied needs into one incredible design that is bright, open and full of life. Danville High School is so excited to start building a swim experience for all ages around this incredible facility.”
Opening Day: Beyond Every Expectation
When the doors of the Danville Community High School Natatorium opened to students and the community in November 2025, the reaction was immediate and unmistakable. For many students encountering the facility for the first time, the experience was transformative—a dramatic departure from the aging pool they had known and, for younger students, their first real encounter with a world-class aquatic environment.
Upon entering, swimmers were struck by the facility’s brightness and beauty. “It’s really pretty in here and so bright,” remarked one swimmer. “The brightness is amazing and makes the facility feel really alive.” A competitive swimmer trying the new starting blocks for the first time was equally enthusiastic: “The new blocks are amazing—you get a lot of power and explosiveness off them, and our team logo on the blocks looks terrific.”
After using the facility regularly, swimmers consistently told staff how much better they could see underwater, praising the exceptional water clarity and improved lane visibility. Beyond the pool itself, athletes and spectators alike noted the significantly improved air quality and temperature throughout the natatorium.
For the school’s swim and dive program, the new natatorium represents an elevation in both the daily training environment and the school’s ability to host competitive meets. The combination of a regulation competition pool, dedicated diving well, spot rigging system, Colorado Timing system and videoboard and professional-grade starting blocks creates a facility that can credibly compete with—and in many respects surpass—facilities at larger programs.
Perhaps equally significant is what the new natatorium means for the school’s physical education curriculum. With the stainless-steel bulkhead system enabling flexible programming and the expanded pool volume accommodating more students simultaneously, the facility allows the school to meaningfully expand swim education—exposing more students to water safety and swimming skills than was ever possible in the old facility.
For the Danville community at large, the new natatorium is a source of civic pride—a signal that the school corporation is committed to providing students with facilities that reflect genuine investment in their development and well-being. When asked what he thought of the new facility, one swimmer said, “This facility shows that the school really cares about us.” The advanced mechanical systems, superior air quality, and inclusive design features ensure that the facility will serve students, athletes, and the community effectively for decades to come.
Setting the Standard for Aquatic Excellence
The Danville Community High School Natatorium project offers a compelling template for school districts and facility managers navigating the challenging but necessary process of aquatic facility replacement. The project demonstrates that a thoughtful integration of modern filtration technology, automated water chemistry management, energy-efficient mechanical systems, innovative air quality solutions, and athlete-centered programming infrastructure can produce a facility that is simultaneously safer, healthier, more efficient, and more capable than what it replaced.
For aquatic professionals evaluating their own aging facilities, Danville’s story is both an inspiration and a practical reference—proof that with the right team, the right technology, and a clear vision, a community can transform an aging pool into an aquatic showcase.
About the author:
Sam Blake is the Director of Business Development at Landmark Aquatic. He brings over 37 years of experience in the aquatics industry, spanning roles in operations, sales, project management, project design, and general management. Sam’s professional affiliations are the Illinois Park and Recreation Association, the Indiana Park and Recreation Association, the Kentucky Recreation and Park Society, the Ohio Parks and Recreation Association, and being a PHTA CPO instructor. He can be reached at sblake@landmarkaquatic.com