Storm water to percolate through pervious pavement at OPAL’s Wild Rose Meadow

Pervious pavement, or “green” paving that allows rainwater to be swiftly reprocessed, was put down Oct. 28 at Wild Rose Meadow, OPAL Community Land Trust’s neighborhood under construction off Mt. Baker Road. This is the first project on Orcas known to use the technique.

The pavement is designed to allow percolation of storm water through the surface into the soil below where the water is naturally filtered and pollutants are removed. Traditional pavement is impervious and sheds rainfall and associated surface pollutants that go directly into nearby storm drains and then into streams, lakes and the ocean, according to Steve Schiller, OPAL project manager.

“The pervious asphalt looks like traditional ‘blacktop,’ but the formula is different,” notes Lisa Byers, OPAL executive director. “It is laid over a base course of two inch stone with all the fine particulate matter removed. The two-inch washed gravel was not previously produced on island nor readily available on the mainland. Island Excavating took on the challenge of producing this product to the correct specifications through a sub-contract with the project’s excavating contractor, Orcas Excavators.

Lakeside Paving brought a crew and equipment to the island from Bellingham to install and roll the poured-in-place pervious asphalt. The technique requires certification to install and Lakeside is the only company in the area with the credentials to do the work, according to Terra Firma NW’s Justin Paulsen, general contractor for the homes.

“The paving company was very pleased with the local gravel base-course product. They described it as perfectly prepared for the project,” Schiller added. OPAL specified the pervious pavement as one of many environmentally sensible building strategies and products for the neighborhood. The paved pads are where Wild Rose Meadow residents will park their vehicles. A grid of grass-filled “grid pavers” will be installed for walkways that could be driven on by emergency vehicles, but are not intended for daily use. The voids collect water during rain and slowly release it to the soil below.

The total project budget at Wild Rose Meadow for delivering 32 permanently affordable homes is $9.8 million. OPAL has secured or gotten conditional commitments for just over $9 million of that total. “All sources of funding for the site work and construction of the first phase of 18 homes is secured,” states Byers.

Julie Brunner, OPAL housing manager, says, “Eighteen homes are spoken for and an additional 82 households have applied to OPAL for a home. Some of those are hoping to be one of the 14 homebuyers in the second phase.” Brunner encourages those interested in purchasing a home to come by the OPAL office, because circumstances change and prospective purchasers sometimes drop out.

OPAL stands for “Of People and Land,” representing a commitment to protecting natural resources while providing permanently affordable homes for people who are vital to the Orcas Island community. Incorporated in 1989, OPAL now provides homes for 66 households on Orcas Island, and continues to accept applications from people who are not able to purchase a home in the traditional market. For more information, go to: www.opalclt.org.

For further information, call OPAL at 376-3191.

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