Park Place Facility Design and POST Media Development
Herrera worked with the City of Bellingham on this multi-phase research & development (R&D), performance monitoring, and regional stormwater treatment facility design project. The goals of the project were to develop a new stormwater treatment media capable of removing a high level of total phosphorus from stormwater runoff, monitor a pilot scale facility using the new media, and reconstruct a regional stormwater treatment facility using the new media. The initial R&D phase of this project (2018) evaluated various combinations and configurations of media components to create a non-proprietary stormwater treatment media with very high total phosphorus removal capabilities. After R&D, a pilot scale prototype filter (2019-2021) was built and monitored in the field in accordance with Technology Assessment Protocol – Ecology (TAPE), to achieve a General Use Level Designation (GULD) from the Washington State Department of Ecology. Following the pilot testing, Herrera designed and prepared bid-ready construction documents (plans, specifications, and estimate) for a total reconstruction of the Park Place Stormwater Facility to increase its phosphorus removal performance for approximately 180 acres (35%) of the Lake Whatcom watershed within the City limits of Bellingham. The project was built in the summer and fall 2021 and was commissioned and activated in early 2022. This collaborative project between the City of Bellingham, Herrera, and the Washington State Department of Ecology was funded through a variety of sources including local funds, Grants of Regional and Statewide Significance (GROSS) and Stormwater Financial Assistance Program (SFAP).
This project won the Gold Award for Uniqueness and/or Innovative Application of New or Existing Techniques at the 2023 ACEC Engineering Excellence Awards. Click here to learn more about the award: 2023 ACEC Engineering Excellence Awards
Learn more about each stage of the project here:
- Park Place Stormwater Facility Chapter 1: Planning
- Park Place Stormwater Facility Chapter 2: Research and Development
- Park Place Stormwater Facility Chapter 3: Design and Construction
- Park Place Stormwater Facility Chapter 4: Monitoring
