Mount Hood Community College Clean Water Retrofit Gresham, Oregon

The Mt. Hood Community College Salmon-Safe Clean Water Retrofit project adds low-impact development stormwater improvements to a five-acre, actively used parking lot where runoff from impervious areas had been discharging directly to nearby creeks for decades without treatment or attenuation.

Low-Impact Development for Improved Water Quality and Salmon Habitat

Led by the Sandy River Watershed Council, the project was designed to improve water quality and salmon habitat in Kelly and Beaver Creeks. This voluntary retrofit project features stormwater planters, drywells, a highly visible rain garden, and depaved parking spaces with “Reserved for Salmon” signs in English, Spanish, and Chinook. The Otak team provided engineering design, landscape architecture design, permitting services, public outreach support, and construction administration. The project was made possible by multiple partners including East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District, Metro, City of Gresham, Spirit Mountain Community Fund, Depave, and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.