Blue Creek Creates a Mountain Retreat
Text and photos courtesy of Aquascape by Blue Creek
 Soon after Tim and Sue purchased their three-acre property in Cle Elum, Wash., they hired Aquascape by Blue Creek to help them design and develop a mountain retreat. The mountain retreat included an aesthetically pleasing view from the cabin, a recreational experience -- complete with a beach, swimming, diving,
canoeing/kayaking, fishing, ice skating, exploring and an adjunct campfire -- a reservoir for irrigation of the property and a habitat for fish, fowl, deer, elk and other woodland species.
We worked closely with the owners to apply their mountain retreat vision within their budget. This involved a lot of communication between the owners, the landscape architects, the general contractor and several subcontractors.
As specialty contractors, we often were delayed in our production schedule due to the performance, schedule and requirements of other contractors on the site. We concluded that we could do a better job for our customers -- as well as increase productivity and company profits on similar future projects -- if we could develop and oversee the general schedule for all elements of the landscape and irrigation work on the site, so we upgraded our state licensure and registration to that of a general contractor.
The greatest delay on the mountain retreat project was tapping into an "underground river" during the rough excavation. Even though we dug a 12-foot-deep test hole and found no gross water, we only did that in one location near the center of the designed pond area. Near the southwest edge of the pond, we designed a 6-foot-deep, 15,000 gph stream and waterfall.
To solve the problem, we installed a French drain system under the liner, and led the system to a well installed outside the liner. We then used the water source as an auto-fill system to the pond. Water from this source enters the bottom of the pond below the thermocline via a float-controlled sump pump. The water temperature was 54 degrees Fahrenheit, which is a boon for a trout habitat.
The mountain retreat project originally specified a boulder-edge treatment on the installation, but budget limits led to our installing a Curlex II erosion-control blanket on the pond perimeter instead. The area adjacent to the shoreline was seeded with native woodland, lacustrine, wetland and riparian grass and forb species. Aquatics also were planted in the pond's marginal areas and in the wetland filter area.
In the first season the owners experienced a frustrating and unsightly algal bloom. We reminded that that as an ecosystem pond, this cycle would occur and self-regulate as the aquatic plants mature, with the regular addition of beneficial bacteria and the circulation of the water as designed.
When we conferred with Tim and Sue, we discovered that they turned off the auto-fill pump to save power. At our recommendation, they restarted the pump and added beneficial bacteria. When Tim and Sue returned to their mountain retreat property the next weekend, the pond was clear, clean and ready for play.
|
Specifications
Designer: Scott Hammond, property owner
Installer: Aquascape by Blue Creek/Blue Creek Landscaping Inc.
Contact information: Ellensburg, Wash., 509-925-7663, escotthammong@gmail.com, bluecreek.landscape@gmail.com
Project location: Cle Elum, Washington
Size: About 50,000 gallons; 125 feet by 167 feet on the longest cross axis by 14 feet maximum depth
Components:
Pond: 22,000 square-feet of 36mil RPP liner, 20,000 square-feet of geotextile, 20 feet of double-walled HDPE pipe, 50 feet of 2-inch flex PVC pipe, 100 tons of river cobble mix, 40 tons of basalt boulders and 100 cubic yards of sand
30-foot by 35-foot constructed wetland filter: 1,750 square-feet of 45mil EPDM, 2,000 square-feet of geotextile, 30 small Aquascape Aquablox, an Aquascape Snorkle and Centipede, an Aquasurge 5,000 pump, 300 feet of 3-inch flex PVC pipe, 100 feet of 2-inch flex PVC pipe and 90 tons of river cobble mix
Under-liner drainage/collection/refill installation: 300 feet of 4-inch perforated drain pipe, 20 feet of double-walled HDPE pipe, 100 tons of washed 1.5-inch drain rock and a Flotec sump pump with float control
Time to complete: 6 weeks on-site; 9 weeks elapsed time
Crew: 6 at varying times
Project cost: $47,400
Buyer's cost: $82,000
|
 Give us your opinion on
Blue Creek Creates a Mountain Retreat
Industry Professional Site: Comments from non-industry professionals will be removed.
|