The public boat ramp in Spanaway Park will be closed Sept. 15 to Oct. 24 so crews can replace the pavement in the ramp’s parking area with pervious pavement that will help filter out contaminants from stormwater before it enters the stormwater system. Bresemann Boulevard – the road through the park – will be closed to through traffic starting Sept. 15 while parking areas along the road are replaced with the pervious pavement. The road will open on the north side of the park on Oct. 25, and work on the south end is expected to be completed by November.

During the road closure, the community can access the park from the north entrance off Military Road and park in Parking Lot A. The playground and walking trails will remain open during park hours while construction takes place.

Currently, stormwater flowing over the streets, parking lots and other hard surfaces located in Spanaway Park and nearby neighborhoods picks up contaminants such as pet waste, leaks from cars, and other pollutants and enters the stormwater system and Spanaway Lake without treatment. These contaminants harm the lake’s water quality.

This work is part of a multi-year retrofit project is intended to disconnect the park’s stormwater system from the lake. This project and future phases will install pervious pavement, paver stones and stormwater filters, as well as several large, engineered rain gardens called bioretention areas. The new features will be designed to blend in with the park’s landscaping.

This project is funded primarily by stormwater retrofit grants from the Washington Department of Ecology. These grants are awarded to communities to help them comply with the Federal Clean Water Act, which requires communities to prevent pollution from entering waterbodies. The project will be completed in phases, as funding is available.

This phase will cost approximately $968,337. The general contractor is WHH Nisqually Federal Services, LLC. For more information about the project, visit www.co.pierce.wa.us/spanparklid.