Stormwater tanks present landscaping challenge for city

The dirt above two big 250,000-gallon stormwater tanks along Spokane’s South Riverton Avenue is just that.

Dirt.

There are also a lot of weeds, and Rich Jordan doesn’t like any of it.

Jordan, a retired construction contractor who’s lived on the corner of South Riverton and Crestline Street for nearly a decade, has kept a close eye on the landscaping above the tanks since they were installed side-by-side in 2012.

He watched as a private landscaping crew contracted by the city sprayed hydroseed along a mile of roadway on one of the last days in November 2012. The ground was wet and froze that night. The grass didn’t take, and never has.

He counted the number of trees and shrubs planted. There were supposed to be 302 plants, but only about 250 made it into the ground. This spring, when Jordan counted them again, the plants left alive numbered only 39.

“These are the plants they put in,” Jordan said Tuesday, pointing to lifeless spots of bark chips dotting a dusty foot trail. He kneeled and wrested a dead twig and root ball from the earth. “This is their restoration.”

Jordan said he has contacted Mayor David Condon and city engineers and planners about the issue, with no response.

But now, the city is paying closer attention to such projects. Over the next 2 1/2 years, the city will ramp up its projects burying huge stormwater tanks underground – part of an effort to stop sewage and pollution from entering the Spokane River, as mandated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Three large tanks are currently being built, and another six are slated for construction before the end of 2017. The easier-to-install small tanks are done and buried, but the biggest ones remain, including two near City Hall and one that may be 4 million gallons.

Though most of the money spent on the projects goes toward what’s underground – the tank, pipes and other infrastructure – up to 5 percent of a project’s budget is dedicated to what’s on top.

“At the end of the day, people aren’t going to see the tank underground. They’re going to see what’s on top,” said Marlene Feist, utilities spokeswoman. “It’s their view. It’s what they drive by. And it’s much more important to us now. We’re giving it a lot more thought.”

Feist said the South Riverton project was done before the city integrated its departments to better manage such projects. She added that the landscaping at South Riverton will be redone this fall, beginning in August when the water department will irrigate the site.

Though Feist didn’t know how much the original landscaping had cost the city, which was done by Davenport, Washington-based Halme Construction, she said the new landscaping is estimated at $50,000.

Feist said the Chief Garry Neighborhood Council is concerned with maintaining river views along the path that runs between the street and the river, so the city plans to plant small trees and shrubbery.

She added that the city is looking into the Halme contract to see if its obligations were fulfilled.

“That is not the result that we would have hoped for,” Feist said of the project’s landscaping. “We’re going to go ahead and redo the vegetation.”

A representative of Halme declined to comment for this article.

Halme is also responsible for the recent installation of storm gardens – wide, landscaped gutters – along Country Homes Boulevard, a project done for the county.

The city’s street-side storm gardens were built by various companies, to mixed results. The swales built last year by Red Diamond Construction along South Lincoln Street are not a year old and parts are empty or overgrown with weeds. Red Diamond is still responsible for their maintenance. Other storm gardens, such as along South Crestline Street, share a similar fate. Four Seasons Landscaping are under contract to maintain the swales on Crestline and Upper Lincoln.

Calls to Four Seasons seeking comment were not returned.

“It’s a challenge. Linear swales along the street are a challenge,” Feist said, noting that the city is exploring ways other than storm gardens to allow stormwater to seep into the ground, such as pervious pavement.

“Things like that may be easier for us to take care of as city,” Feist said.

Jordan, the watchful neighbor, suggests that making the landscape acceptable will take some vigilance, and he’s happy to keep an eye on its progress.

“I’ve been bitching to various individuals for three years and nobody’s responded to me,” Jordan said. “If this was downtown and at the Convention Center, there’d be an outcry.”

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this article misstated the role of Four Seasons Landscaping in the construction of the city’s swales. It has been corrected.