Project Overview: EV-0155
This project will retrofit the City of Bellingham’s Park Place Sand Filter Facility to significantly increase the facility’s ability to remove phosphorus from stormwater runoff. The reconstructed Park Place facility will treat roughly 105 acres of mixed development and forested area within the Lake Whatcom Watershed. The project will improve the phosphorus treatment by utilizing a cutting-edge technology, Phosphorus Optimized Stormwater Treatment (POST) Media, currently under development by the City of Bellingham. The POST media was approved by the Department of Ecology for pilot project use statewide in 2018.
This system will achieve large gains in the City’s phosphorus reduction efforts, as required by the Department of Ecology as part of the Lake Whatcom Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Implementation Plan developed by the City and approved by Ecology. This retrofit will increase water quality treatment for runoff into Lake Whatcom. When completed in conjunction with other Water Quality Treatment projects in the watershed, the last remaining untreated runoff from areas inside City limits will receive treatment prior to discharge into Lake Whatcom.
The City is currently working with Herrera consultants to develop and test a customized treatment media which improves phosphorus removal in a sand filter type of system. The media is slated for pilot project installation in early 2019 at a City stormwater treatment vault in the Pullman St right-of-way near Silver Beach Elementary. In order for this system to be designed for use in the Park Place facility, the City must complete field research and performance monitoring as required by the Department of Ecology’s Technology Assessment Protocol – Ecology (TAPE) process. The TAPE process requires at least one full season of monitoring and continual observations through a typical maintenance cycle.
The project will be funded by the following: Grant: Department of Ecology Stormwater Financial Assistance Program (SFAP), Non-Grant Eligible Items: City of Bellingham Watershed Fund, Grant Match Funds: City of Bellingham Storm and Surface Water Utility
Status – August 2021
Accomplishments: Construction began mid-June 2021.
Next Milestone: Complete construction on six of the treatment cells and install the POST Media. The POST Media is currently in Pilot Use Level Designation (PULD) by the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology). The City and the Design Engineer of the POST Media is in the process of obtaining General Use Level Designation (GULD) with Ecology.
Project Details
- Status - Construction
- Contract Awarded – 4/12/2021
- Contract Amount – $1,674,175.03
- Contractor – Boss Construction
- Vicinity Map
Contacts
Aric Smathers, P.E.
Email: arsmathers@cob.org
Public Works Contacts
