Consultant Arnie Sugar of HWA Geo Science said that until “shockingly recently” a lot of what would now be considered industrial toxins simply were stored in the ground or just dumped into the ground.
That fact is, according to Sugar and others, why does Bothell need to spend over $200,000 on environmental measures before it can move forward with the planned realignment of the intersection of State Route 522 and Main Street?
The realignment is a big piece of the plan city officials have for revamping and growing Bothell’s downtown. The relocated SR 522 would run right through what is now the Bothell Landing retail strip at SR 522 and Northeast 180th Street.
On Oct. 30, the city held a sparsely attended public hearing at the Northshore Senior Center on the proposed clean up of the Bothell Landing property. The hearing was a required step in the city’s application for a $200,000 grant to help fund the environmental work. Sugar didn’t want to speculate on the final price tag of the work, saying the number could change once workers actually begin poking around in the dirt beneath Bothell Landing. He did say costs would exceed the potential grant money.
A capital program manager for the city, Steve Morikawa, along with Sugar, said a lot of historical research of the immediate area around Bothell Landing went into preparation of the grant application. Officials had to know what might be in the ground in the immediate area.
According to Sugar, businesses in the blocks around Bothell Landing have included, over the years, up to 20 gas stations and a couple of dry cleaners. Those businesses are of particular interest in connection with any environmental work since they are potential sources of contaminants ranging from oil and gas to cleaning solvents.
Sugar noted the ground around Bothell Landing is highly permeable because of the presence of plenty of groundwater. Contaminants from businesses such as service stations easily could have reached that groundwater, he added.
The clean up could consist of removing contaminated soil to specialized landfills or heat treating that soil and putting it back in place. As for any groundwater, certain bacteria may be used to basically feed on any chemicals in the water.
Both Sugar and Morikawa said while the clean up around Bothell Landing is needed in order to relocate SR 522, officials are looking at the project and other work throughout the downtown as a chance to remove any existing environmental problems.
“It’s a good opportunity for Bothell to clean up,” Morikawa said.
For example, Sugar said officials have been hunting for sometime for the source of contamination evident in Horse Creek, which empties into the Sammamish River. For much of its length through Bothell, the creek is basically buried and the source of the pollution reaching it could be anywhere between the river and the opposite end of Bothell.
The city plans to begin work on the SR 522 and Main Street intersection in 2010. City Manager Bob Stowe said recently the construction likely will carry over into the following year. The overall idea is to create a sort of “T”-shaped intersection that planners believe will ease traffic congestion and could spur commercial development.
