Giving Sea Life a New Home in the Salt Lake Valley

Andersen says an extensive filtering and pumping system will circulate and clean the water, allowing it to be used multiple times before entering the sewer system. "Saltwater can be expensive to make, so we want to get as much use out of it as we can," he says. "The coral reef tank needs the cleanest water, so the water enters that tank first. Eventually, that water is pumped out through our recovery unit with a sand filter and an ultraviolet sterilizing process and then used in the shark tank and other exhibits. It is cleaned and sterilized a third time and used in the penguin exhibit before we are done with it."

Re-use of water is only one of the conservation measures used at the LLPA, and Andersen says that while the building is not seeking LEED certification, the team is making efforts to be as environmentally sensitive as possible. High-efficiency windows in the rainforest exhibit maintain a consistent interior temperature, even in winter. Newly developed LED lighting will illuminate the tanks, and photovoltaic panels on the roof will generate 400 kV of power for the facility.

Key Players  

Owner: Living Planet Aquarium (401c3 nonprofit) 

Architect: Beecher Walker Architects 

Construction Management: R4 Constructors 

General Contractor: Tom Stuart Construction 

Engineering: 

• Civil/Site: Ensign Engineering 

• Structural: Dunn Associates Inc.

 • Electrical: Cache Valley Electric

 • Mechanical: Custom Mechanical 

Specialty Engineering: 

• Aquarium tanks and water system design engineering: Cloward H2O,