Westside Community Schools replaced its aging natatorium with a new championship-caliber facility designed for one of the most decorated high school swimming programs in the United States.
Opened in March 2026 as part of the broader 67,000-square-foot Student Life Complex, the new natatorium sets a new benchmark for scholastic aquatic facilities in the country. At the heart of the venue is a multi-purpose competition pool, configurable in either 25-yard or 25-meter format thanks to a movable bulkhead. The pool features 8 lanes and reaches a maximum depth of 4 meters to accommodate a dedicated diving area. Built using RenovAction system, the project avoided the long and costly demolition of the existing concrete tank, transforming the aging structure into a modern competition venue while preserving the benefits of the original shell. The result combines the structural strength, hygiene, and precision associated with Myrtha’s laminated stainless steel technology.
The filtration system relies on Defender technology, ensuring consistent water quality across training sessions, competitions, and public use alike. The facility is equipped with a range of advanced accessories and systems, from Defender filtration, designed to improve water quality while reducing energy and water consumption, to competition headwalls and 20 custom black Myrtha Track Start starting blocks. One of the venue’s defining elements is the Myrtha movable bulkhead, which allows multiple pool configurations for both competitions and daily activities. Extensive glass architecture surrounding the pool floods the space with natural light, contributing to the open and professional atmosphere of the facility.
Type
City
Technology
Surface
63 x 96 ft
Depth
4 - 13 ft
Location
Accessories
Westside’s natatorium also integrates Myrtha Breathe, a system developed by Myrtha Pools following four years of research conducted in collaboration with university laboratories and specialists, including Professor Ernest R. Blatchley III of Purdue University. In enclosed aquatic environments, volatile disinfection by-products such as chloramines and halomethanes tend to accumulate near the water surface and deck level, affecting both users and the long-term durability of the facility.
Installed along the overflow channel perimeter, Myrtha Breathe injects microbubbles into the gutter water through a porous piping network. The bubbles remove dissolved contaminants before they can volatilize into the breathing zone, while a secondary suction channel extracts polluted air and expels it outside the building. Unlike conventional HVAC-based approaches, the system acts directly at the source with minimal additional energy consumption. Laboratory and field tests have also shown improvements in water quality through the reduction of bacterial proliferation.
The project was delivered by general contractor Weitz Company, designed by TACK Architects, and guided on the aquatics side by consultant WTI. Funding came almost entirely from private donations raised through the Westside Foundation’s Impacting Excellence Campaign, reflecting the depth of community investment behind the project in the Omaha, Nebraska community.
For Myrtha Pools, Westside is more than a high school project: it demonstrates how precision engineering, adaptive construction methods, and research-driven solutions can raise the standard of scholastic aquatic facilities to a level previously associated with Olympic venues.
