Expand and Enhance the Green Lake Pool Rebuild
Allie Bacharach
Hello Husky Masters Swimmers!
I am Allie Bacharach, and I have been swimming with the team since 2021. I am reaching out to raise awareness of the Green Lake Pool renovation plans and to share how members of the aquatic community can provide their input and influence the project.
As a user of Seattle pools, you are likely familiar with our aging facilities and the growing challenge of meeting community demand. Seattle’s pool system has not kept pace with population growth, and city leaders need to hear directly from you, the citizens.
While expanding aquatic facilities citywide is a top concern, the immediate focus is the Green Lake Pool Rebuild, which is actively underway and needs your community awareness.
The City plans to replace the 70-year-old Green Lake Aquatic Facility, but current designs propose replacing the current 6-lane, 25-yard lap recreation pool with one of the same size. I am advocating for the city to build a more multi-use, larger pool that would truly enable the aquatic facility to meet current and future aquatic needs. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to do better.
If this is a concern for you, I need your help spreading the word.
You can help advocate for expanding the Green Lake Pool capacity and more by taking three crucial steps:
- Email Seattle’s City Council Members! (Most Impactful with Government)
- Share this information with your network
- Sign the Petition
Below are the links to the following:
- Email Address for Local City Council Member
- Sign the Petition
Why This Matters
In the 70 years since the Green Lake Pool was built, according to the United States Census Bureau, Seattle’s population has grown from 467,591 in 1950 to 737,015 in 2020, an approximately 58% increase. Yet, the city added only one new public pool after the 1970s, Mounger Pool in 1998, despite continued population growth in every decade.
Seattle is surrounded by water, yet King County averages about 27 drowning deaths each year, more than 70% of which may be preventable. A 2009 case-control study published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine found that swim lessons can reduce the risk of drowning in children by up to 88%. Despite this, drowning remains a serious public health issue: CDC data from 2018–2022 show Washington State ranks ninth nationally in drowning rates.
At the same time:
- Most City of Seattle pools are over 50 years old
- Seattle’s population has grown by ~50% during that period
- Swim lessons are consistently waitlisted
- Lap swimmers often share lanes with five or more swimmers
- Swim teams struggle to find adequate pool time
- Many city pools have limited hours and are not open seven days per week
- No city pool can support a regulation water polo game due to insufficient depth
Looking Ahead
The City of Seattle currently has no year-round pools larger than six lanes. In contrast, most modern aquatic facilities that support swim teams have eight or more lanes, and many cities invest in 50-meter configurable pools to allow multiple programs to run simultaneously.
While many community members support a 50-meter configurable pool, even a 10-lane, 25-yard pool with sufficient depth for deep water sports would be a meaningful improvement, better serving today’s needs while allowing flexibility for the future.
Larger, more flexible pools are essential to meeting our community’s water safety, recreation, fitness, and competitive aquatic needs.
What You Can Do
I respectfully urge you to contact Seattle city leadership and advocate for expanded public pool capacity at Green Lake and across Seattle. The Green Lake Pool project is moving forward, but with strong community support, it can be expanded to better serve current and future generations.
We can and should do better than the status quo.
Best regards,
Allie Bacharach