Trident Aquatic Center - Owasso's Newest Swim Center
Trident Aquatics announced in early May of 2019 that it is breaking ground on a 18,000-square-foot aquatic center in Owasso, Oklahoma. The swim center is located at the Owasso Medical Campus site, at the Hwy 169 96th Street exit. The swim facility includes two pools; a world-class eight-lane competition pool and a shallow teaching pool.
Trident has trained swimmers from around the Tulsa area since 2014 and has placed athletes at the state, regional and national levels, including the 2016 Olympic Trials! Over 65 percent of graduating athletes in their program have gone on to swim at the collegiate level, with most receiving meaningful scholarships. This is going to be an excellent amenity for Owasso and surrounding communities.
TEP is excited for the Owasso Community as this project breaks ground. As with almost every project, this project had its challenges. Even smaller projects like this one can pose civil engineering challenges. One challenge on this project was the water distribution for the site. Even though this is within the City of Owasso, the site is within the Rural Water District service area. This took communication between the City and Rural Water District, and all of us working together as a team.
Another challenge on this project was the environmental aspect. The American Burying Beetle is an endangered species that requires studies at certain times of the year to determine if they are present on a project site. The majority of the Trident site is clear but along the stream on the east side of the site, potential Burying Beetle habitat is present. This means a study needs to be completed on this portion of the site when temperatures are above a certain temperature for several days in a row. Until the site has been cleared this portion of the site is to be left undisturbed. If the weather fluctuates, this can slow the project down significantly.
Along with endangered species, a United States Geographical Survey (USGS) stream is on site, which shows as a blue line on a USGS Quad Map. When a “blue line” is on site and any work is to be conducted within that, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) gets involved. A permit from them is needed to conduct work in the channel. As a Civil Engineer, these are things that need to be assessed upfront and completed or they will impact construction start dates significantly.
We are very excited for Sean Callan, Trident's Founder, and his team to open up this swim center in Owasso. It has been an honor for TEP to be a part of this project and we are excited for the City of Owasso as this will be a huge benefit for Owasso and surrounding communities!
Follow us as we post updates as Trident moves further along! For more information about the Trident Aquatic Center, click the links below.