Yawa Aquatic Centre has finally reopened after prolonged lockdowns in metropolitan Melbourne and surrounding regions. Yawa is proudly managed by Belgravia Leisure on behalf of Mornington Peninsula Shire Council.

The venue celebrated its reopening with an open day and an official unveiling by Mayor Councillor Despi O’Connor.

‘Yawa’ which means ‘swim’, or ‘to swim’, is the local indigenous word endorsed by the Bunurong/Boon Wurrung Traditional Owners.

Yawa sets itself apart from other aquatic centres in the region for its innovative sustainability features which include:

• A rainwater harvesting system that collects up to 100,000 litres of water
• Energy efficient boiler to heat pool water
• Thermal insulation around pool shell
• Weather and occupancy responsive monitoring systems
• Energy efficient lighting and skylights to allow more natural light into the building

Mayor Cr O’Connor is proud of the sustainability achievements at Yawa Aquatic Centre, “Yawa Aquatic Centre is a great example of how we have maximised sustainability in the design and build.

“The building is pressurised, much like a balloon – with few “holes” to let air in. This allows us to operate the fans at lower speeds, using less energy. 

“By harvesting rainwater from the roof, we are able to replenish water in the pools organically – saving water and reducing energy use in the process.

“With a facility of this size, Yawa Aquatic Centre requires a lot of energy to run. The design team has carefully balanced the use of existing technologies, such as energy efficient gas boilers to heat the two million litres of pool water, with many state of the art smart and environmentally friendly solutions, to achieve a modern, energy efficient centre for the community.

“Council is very proud of this building with its many energy saving systems reducing carbon emissions,” Mayor Cr O’Connor said.

Read more about Yawa Aquatic Centre’s sustainability initiatives on the Mornington Peninsula Council website here.