Why care about the Evergreen pool?

Thurston County, and especially Olympia, have gone without a public pool for FAR TOO LONG.  Thurston County has one of the highest drowning rates in Washington State, and in fact the nation. And it's only been getting worse in 2026.

In the City of Olympia alone there are about 9,000 children with ZERO access to pools or swim lessons.

Olympia is desperately in need of more recreational facilities, and Evergreen offers not only the best swimming pool in the Mason, Thurston, and Lewis County area, but it also has a frisbee golf course, tennis courts, soccer fields, and recreation center.

The need for facilities is even more dramatic in West Olympia, which is far away from all the North Thurston Public School pools, Tumwater Valley, and the Briggs YMCA. West Olympia NEEDS and DESERVES public support, and shouldn't just be funding others' parks and facilities.

Additionally, the reduction in students and users of Evergreen State College facilities has a significant negative effect on the economy and community of West Olympia. Evergreen is a huge campus that sits largely empty, and to have the hundreds of users per week come back to Evergreen would mean so much to the northwest Olympia community.

Tumwater hasn't had a public pool since the closure of Tumwater Valley in 1994. For the vast majority of the people of Tumwater, "the Valley" is well outside of their family's budget. The Briggs YMCA is massively overcrowded to the point that you can't find parking. Lessons fill up in minutes, and it takes months to get into lessons. 

In Tumwater alone, there are about 4,500 children with zero access to a public pool.

Tumwater passed the Municiple Parks District with a promise of a pool and a community center. It has been 8 years, and neither of them are open. The Evergreen pool is the closest and most accessible facility in the area, and can be easily accessed from the Tumwater Hill area, as well as the neighborhoods around North and South street.

Lacey currently has 3 public school pools, all 3 of which have minimal availability for most of the year due to school being in session, or the swim lessons or clubs using the pool. This is about to get MUCH, MUCH worse. Lacey's pools are about to absorb nearly 200 more high school swimmers, plus all the swimmers that were swimming or taking lessons at Evergreen. 

Lacey Parks and Rec has already said that they will have to reduce or eliminate swim lessons at the NTPS school pools.

Additionally, adding hundreds of swimmers that use the pool a LOT will increase the strain on the pools even further, resulting in increased upkeep costs, and shortening the lives of the pools. And all 3 pools are now more than 30 years old. Those pools will very soon need significant upgrades and remodels, and more pool users is going to make those upgrades happen sooner and more expensive. Everything that is happening to the Evergreen pool now could happen to the North Thurston pools in just a couple years.

A college campus is supposed to be a vibrant, alive, engaging place. The more people that are there, the more interest and engagement there will be between the college and the community.

Evergreen has shrunk to about half of its former size, and a tiny fraction of its former on-campus size.

Evergreen has closed the indoor soccer fields, the outdoor community soccer fields, the theatre program, the pool and now Lord Manor. It's facing a death spiral.

Keeping the pool open means more people on campus, and more potential students see the campus as a beautiful place, and a great potential college to attend.

Having the pool open means free public outreach and advertising for the school. Every swim meet or water polo tournament is HUNDREDS of potential students coming to see the campus.

Additionally, the pool remaining open will provide health, work, and recreational opportunities for the students and staff.

The price of repairing the pool is now estimated to be in the region of $100,000, with a large scale remodel being around $1M.

This compares to estimated costs for a new pool in Thurston County to be 10 years off, and cost $100M or more.

Or, another way to say it is 1 pool in the hand is worth 100 pools in the bush.

What will the community say to a new pool when those same governments chose to allow the Evergreen pool to close for 1/100th the cost?

Our goal is for the pool to be run by a non-profit entity that is not dependent on taxes.

Every kid in the Olympia School District should have a chance to learn to swim. Period. It's a lifesaving skill that our kids need more than ever. Evergreen could be the center of both Olympia and Tumwater's school district programs to support aquatics education.

Both Olympia and Capital High schools utilize the Evergreeen pool, and OSD has been using the pool for nearly 50 years. It is central to the entire district's swim and dive programs, and without it, both programs will risk either becoming cut sports, or being cut entirely. 

The Capital High School Swim and Dive Team will have to travel 30 minutes each way just to be able to practice. Olympia High School will have to travel 20 minutes each way, during rush hour.

Currently the school district's practice time will be as late as 9PM, and 30 minutes away from their home schools.

And both teams will be final considerations at the pool. Timberline High school and its team will have higher priority, and this will lead to late swim practices, and very few home meets for Olympia students.

Olympia High School does not have a single team in its league in Thurston County. This may mean that ALL OHS meets will have to be in Pierce and Kitsap counties, which meana an hour bus ride each way, at least. This adds up to dozens of extra hours per season of bus trips, and missed classes.

Every kid in the Tumwater School District should have a chance to learn to swim. Period. It's a lifesaving skill that our kids need more than ever. Evergreen could be the center of both Olympia and Tumwater's school district programs to support aquatics education.

Both Tumwater school district high schools (Tumwater and Black Hills) practiced and competed at Evergreen State College, and are now being forced to practice at River Ridge High School. This is a much smaller facility (6 lanes instead of 11), and is inferior in every way (diving board, locker rooms, equipment). This also means that they cannot practice after school, and will have to wait until later in the afternoon and evening to be able to practice. River Ridge is about 30 minutes from Black Hills High School with minimal traffic, and practices will be during rush hour, meaning transportation could take as long as an hour each way just for practices.

The last time that Tumwater School District teams were forced to leave their home pool, the boys program at TSD was closed just 7 years later. How soon until the girls team is eliminated?

Swimming is a lifesaving skill. And for those in the BIPOC community, it is a skill that was denied for most of the 20th century. Many pools throughout the country were "Whites Only", even after integration of schools, restaurants, and other businesses. Private clubs would often exclude non-whites. This inequality became a generational truth that still haunts us today. A parent who did not receive swim lessons is 75% less likely to have their children take swim lessons.

The statistics are staggering:

• American Indians/American Natives have the highest overall drowning death rates, double the rate of White individuals under age 30. The disparity peaks in natural water settings.

• African American and black populations have the second-highest drowning rates. For those under age 30, rates are 1.5× higher than White individuals. Among children ages 10–14, Black children drown in swimming pools at rates 7.6× higher than White children. Drowning rates also surged among Black communities during the pandemic years as pools were closed and drownings increased in open water.

• Latino/Hispanic children are approximately three times more likely to drown than White children in the U.S. Roughly 72% of Hispanic adults report never having taken a swimming lesson, compared to 55% of all adults. An estimated 45% of Hispanic children have few to no swimming skills.

• Asian and Pacific Islander children above 5 and adults have a drowning rate approximately 50% greater than their White counterparts.

Not only has race played into access to swim facilities, income has as well.

• Approximately 79% of children in households earning less than $50,000 have few-to-no swimming skills.  Lower-income brackets and marginalized communities disproportionately lack access to affordable formal swimming lessons, leaving them vulnerable to drowning in both pools and natural bodies of water.

Swimming lowers healthcare costs by preventing chronic illnesses, reducing reliance on expensive surgeries for joint injuries, and managing long-term conditions. Major health organizations recognize it as a highly cost-effective, preventative treatment option. Swimming provides an intense aerobic workout combined with strength training, lowering blood pressure and improving cholesterol. This reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke, preventing expensive cardiac events and long-term medication costs.

Swim lessons and access to swimming pool significantly reduces the likelihood of drowning deaths (by up to 88% for those under the age of 4, and 67% for those under the age of 9). But it also reduces the chances of non-fatal drownings, which can have a serious effect of individuals, and the health care system as well.

Non-fatal drowning incidents resulting in brain injury can cause medical and long-term care costs exceeding $100,000 to $250,000+ per year, creating an extreme financial burden for vulnerable families and health insurance.

On a macro scale, drowning costs the U.S. economy over $50+ billion per year (combining fatal and non-fatal incidents). For Washington State, the cost of drownings is about $2 billion per year. For Thurston County, this is estimated to be about $65M per year in lost GDP.

Public swimming pools are an important part of the community, and it's something that Thurston County is desperately missing. 

Pools bring large events like adult and young swim meets, water polo tournaments, camps, and community events. Things that make a place actually worth living in, and events that bring the community together.

The Evergreen pool could host large "Movies in the Pool" events that bring families of all ages together. 

Kids don't float. And that has dire consequences for our youth.

A single set of lessons between the ages of 1 and 4 decreases the liklihood of drowning by 88%. For children 5-9 it decreases the rates of drowning by 67%.

The youth population of Thurston County, but especially Olympia and Tumwater is on the decline. The potential of even more drownings could drive these numbers even lower.

Swimming is one of the safest sports for middle and high schoolers, as well as college athletics. Swimming boasts the lowest overall injury rates across all studied organized athletics. And most injuries in swimming are not serious, resulting in minor physical therapy, rather than surgeries or paralysis.

Swimming is also one of the best sports, burning the most calories, providing a life-saving skill, and also giving job opportunities for young adults who can become lifeguards, water safety instructors, and certified pool operators early in life, providing income and responsibility.

Swimming is an incredibly low-impact exercise for the elderly. It supports up to 90% of body weight to relieve joint pain, builds core strength to reduce fall risks, and improves cardiovascular health. Water resistance and instability challenge your body's balance systems safely, strengthening core and stabilizer muscles. A study tracking men over 70 found regular swimmers were 33% less likely to experience falls.

Evergreen Pool was also the site of the Washington State Senior Games, which hosted athletes from ages 50 to 99 (or higher), and brought revenue to our commuinty as well!

Regular swimmers experienced a 15% decrease in general anxiety and a 12% reduction in depressive symptoms over a 6-month tracking period.

Engaging in aerobic swimming can boost your brain's "feel-good" endorphin levels by up to 30%, acting as a natural mood elevator.

A massive UK study by Swim England found that regular swimming significantly reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression for 1.4 million people.  In the same large-scale study, 43% of regular swimmers reported that the activity explicitly makes them feel happier.

And it does all of this with significantly less risk of injury and physical stress by reducing the weight and impact risks.

Here are just a few of the activities that can be enjoyed at the Evergreen pool:

• Swimming

• Water Polo

• Underwater Hockey

• SCUBA diving

• Water rescues

• Kayaking

• OtterBall

• Water Aerobics

• Mermaids

• Physical therapy

• Sports and injury rehabilitation