The environmental document for a proposed aquatic center at the University of California, Davis, has been completed and is available for public review and comment.

The Draft Tiered Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration are available, with the public notice for the project, on the Web. Copies also are available at the university's Office of Resource Management and Planning in Mrak Hall and the reserve reading rooms of UC Davis' Shields and Carlson Health Sciences libraries, the Davis branch of the Yolo County Library and the Vacaville Public Library.

Written comments may be submitted through Aug. 1 to the Office of Resource Management and Planning.

The proposed aquatic center would supplement facilities at the Hickey Gymnasium and the Recreation pools, which are not able to meet the demands of the university's enrollment. It would help meet the needs of intercollegiate aquatic sports, recreational swimmers in the campus community and city of Davis swimming programs.

Primary users would include the men's and women's swimming, diving and water polo teams, and the facility would accommodate training, competition and support space. Secondary users would include UC Davis recreational swimmers and participants of the city's youth and adult swimming programs.

The project would be located on 3.6 undeveloped acres on the main campus between La Rue Road and two existing parking lots at the north end of the Health Sciences District. It would include a 46,208-square-foot aquatic center, a parking lot for about 100 cars and 1.3 acres of landscaped grounds.

Features of the pool area would include:

• an open-air, 65-meter pool with a 50-meter lap lane area;
• a 15-meter diving area with four springboards;
• a warming pool;
• and seating for 500 spectators.

A building would house:

• men's and women's locker rooms each with 66 team and 30 day-use lockers;
• a sports medicine/first aid room;
• four offices each accommodating one full-time and at least one part-time coach each;
• and meeting space.

The project also would include the realignment of a bike path that runs under La Rue Road to connect the core campus area with the Health Sciences District.