PORT ANGELES — Crews have completed a major overhaul of the Clallam County Courthouse parking lot to help reduce pollution that flows into neighboring Peabody Creek.
With help from the state Department of Ecology, Clallam County has installed bio-retention cells and porous asphalt around the east and south sides of the facility in Port Angeles.
The low-impact design, or LID, retrofit will collect and filter stormwater before it flows into combined sewer mains or the adjacent ravine.
Crews broke ground on the project Oct. 12.
The bulk of the work was completed by Dec. 14, county Parks, Fair and Facilities Director Joel Winborn said.
“There are a few odds and ends we are working on but for the most part the project is complete,” Winborn said in a Thursday email.
“Although it is still early, the project was a success.”
Bio-retention cells, or large rain gardens, are landscaped depressions with special soils and plants that collect and filter stormwater.
Porous asphalt is a type of permeable pavement that allows stormwater to seep into the ground or overflow pipes rather than collect at the surface.
“Because bio-retention cells and porous asphalt are still relatively new technologies, there will be a slight learning curve for our facilities maintenance staff, because maintaining these systems is a critical part of their success,” Winborn said.
“They’re a very talented group, and I’m confident they’ll figure it out pretty quick.”
Clallam County commissioners in September awarded a $333,333 contract to Interwest Construction Inc. to be the general contractor.
Because Interwest has a presence in Clallam County, its employees who worked on the project — and most of the subcontractors — were Clallam County citizens, Winborn said.
“That’s always a good thing,” he said.
Three-fourths of the project was funded by a grant from Ecology, which offered a “very positive assessment” during a final check-off Dec. 21, Winborn said.
Clallam County provided a 25 percent match for the LID retrofit.
“There are a few things we will be doing in 2016 to improve on what was accomplished in 2015,” Winborn said.
“Some of those items will include an electric car charging station, additional drought-tolerant landscaping around the courthouse, seating areas, informational kiosks that describe the work done and the theory behind it, and other miscellaneous items.”
A major expansion of the courthouse in 1979 increased the impervious surface area from which water flows into Peabody Creek, which supported a small salmon population before a culvert was installed near its mouth.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
