Case Study: Slide Replacement for Municipal Pool at Saanich Commonwealth Place
| 5 min read
Saanich Commonwealth Place, a long-standing community aquatic and recreation facility serving Greater Victoria, B.C., Canada, unveiled a new WhiteWater AquaTube™ in November 2025, replacing the original slide after more than three decades of service. The project reflects how communities are exploring ways to update essential aquatic assets within active, space-constrained public facilities.
Installed for the 1993 Commonwealth Games, the original WhiteWater Pool Sider at Saanich Commonwealth Place brought decades of enjoyment to local residents, school groups, and families as part of the facility’s year-round aquatic offering. In a technical review almost 30 years later, the slide was professionally assessed as having reached the end of its service life, leading to the decision to proceed with a replacement.
The new WhiteWater AquaTube installation was designed to integrate within the existing facility. The slide has a total ride length of 76.3 meters, made up of 101 individual sections. The primary 32-inch AquaTube accounts for 67.9 meters of the overall length, with an additional 8.5-metre shutdown lane. Entry box coordinates were updated to align with the existing tower geometry, ensuring accurate fit and integration with the current structure.
“Saanich residents—and visitors from across the region—have responded incredibly positively to the new AquaTube water slide at Saanich Commonwealth Place. We’re already seeing increased attendance at our drop-in swims and hearing lots of enthusiastic feedback from riders,” said Jennifer Jakobsen, Manager of Saanich Commonwealth Place.
Designing Colourful Thrills for Indoor Aquatic Center
At the outset of the project, the primary objective was the replacement of the existing slide. WhiteWater worked with the client to evaluate and confirm the design and technical direction.
Once a 32-inch AquaTube was identified as the most suitable solution, concerns were raised about interior brightness, particularly for younger riders. To address this, WhiteWater incorporated AquaLucent, a fiberglass effect that adds bursts of colour and light throughout the slide path to highlight drops, twists and turns, along with translucent slide sections that allow natural light to enter the flume, improving visibility and rider comfort without compromising structural strength or durability. This approach maintained the performance required for a high-use community facility.
“The slide’s AquaLucent panels create a thrilling, one-of-a-kind experience that truly stands out from anything else in the area, and families have appreciated the reduced rider-height requirement that makes it accessible for more children,” said Jennifer.
Retrofitting in an Active Public Pool
The project was delivered during the facility’s planned annual maintenance closure, requiring close collaboration between the District of Saanich, the structural engineering team, and the installation team. This coordination enabled careful sequencing of demolition, remediation, installation, and finishing work, allowing other areas of the facility to reopen as soon as the slide replacement scope was complete and minimizing disruption to ongoing community use.
As a replacement project, a key objective was to manage risk while making effective use of existing infrastructure. A technical assessment identified select elements that could be reused, including roof anchorage connection points, the slide support foundation, the sump, and the start tower notch, each adapted as needed to accommodate the new slide.
Navigating Renewal Challenges in Community Aquatic Facilities
According to Statistics Canada, there are more than 5,000 publicly operated aquatic facilities in service nationwide as of 2020. Industry assessments published by Wavecrest Aquatics indicates that many of these facilities have been operating for decades, raising concerns around aging structures, outdated systems, and the long-term viability of existing assets.
Across global markets, renewing community aquatic facilities requires not only experience working within existing public infrastructure, but also a deep understanding of the operational realities faced by public agencies, including the need to manage safety risks and the complexities associated with aging facilities.
At the same time, indoor aquatic facilities typically operate year-round, meaning that any renewal or replacement work requires carefully planned shutdowns. Working within existing buildings can also introduce unknown conditions that impact project scope, schedule, and cost. In this context, partnering with a team that brings proven public-sector experience and strong cross-disciplinary coordination is critical to project success.
“The WhiteWater team was professional, well organized, and helped Saanich to accomplish this slide replacement project within the constraints of our existing facility,” said Jennifer.
Drawing on extensive experience with retrofit and replacement projects, WhiteWater supports public agencies by identifying risks early and involving engineering, project services, and installation expertise from the outset, helping minimize disruption to ongoing community use.
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