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The new Sunset Swim Center Parking Lot. Photo ©2013 by THPRD

Sunset Swim Center gets stream-friendly parking lot

In a collaboration among the Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District, the Tualatin Riverkeepers, and the DEQ, a permeable-surface parking lot has been installed at the Sunset Swim Center, 13707 NW Science Park Drive.

Brian Wegener, of the Riverkeepers, created a project called the “5000 Acres Initiative” three years ago. He says, “According to the Clean Water Services Healthy Streams Plan, there are 5000 acres of parking lots in the Tualatin basin.  Most of these discharge stormwater directly into the nearest creek or wetland, carrying pollution and causing erosion and flooding.”

“I was inspired to start a project to plant trees in parking lots by research from the University of Washington showing that in an evergreen forest west of the Cascades, there is no surface stormwater runoff.  After a little research, I found articles about structural soil research at Cornell University and elsewhere.  Maria Cahill of Green Girl Land Development Solutions helped develop the concept, and we applied for a EPA/DEQ Nonpoint Source Pollution Grant.”

“We were looking for project partners with a parking lot. Mark Boguslawski, a stormwater engineer with the City of Beaverton, told me about the Sunset Swim Center project.  THPRD and our other site partner PCC had both recently passed bond measures for capitol improvements, so they could meet the matching requirement of the EPA grant.”

“THPRD was already planning to put in a porous concrete parking lot.  We were able to add our very special tree wells (Parking Forest) to the project. In an effort to spread the gospel—of trees managing stormwater in parking lots—we have branded this approach "Parking Forest: As if Mother Nature designed a parking lot.”

The swim center is close to a branch of Cedar Mill Creek, which eventually makes its way to Rock Creek, which empties into the Tualatin River.

THPRD Communications Director Bob Wayt adds, “The Sunset Swim Center project is the district’s second pervious concrete parking lot. The first one was completed at Aloha Swim Center in August 2010.  Both were funded by THPRD’s 2008 voter-approved bond measure.  The bond measure amount was $100 million, which is funding 130 projects focused on parks, trails, natural areas, youth athletic fields, facility rehabilitation/expansion, and land acquisition. The Riverkeepers grant (from the J. Frank Schmidt Foundation) paid for 12 trees, but there are 26 total in the parking lot.  THPRD covered the cost of the other 14.”

Wegener explains, “More than 650,000 gallons of rain falls on this parking lot in a typical year.  Up to one-third of that will evaporate, with the balance infiltrating into the ground.  In many previous efforts by jurisdictions throughout the region, porous pavement has been found to be so effective at infiltrating rainfall that samples could not be collected! Tualatin Hills Parks & Recreation Department and Green Girl Land Development Solutions will be monitoring long-term tree health. 

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