The Santa Barbara/Ventura Branch of the American Society of Civil Engineers has selected the Ventura County Government Center Parking Lot Green Streets Retrofit Project as 2014 Project of the Year.

The new development is a project of the Ventura County Public Works Agency’s Watershed Protection District, helmed by Stormwater Program manager Ewelina Mutkowska and water quality engineer David Kirby, which was recognized for benefiting the community, its application of engineering principals, overcoming challenges and success of process.

At least 10 projects were nominated for the award; the VCPWA WPD project is one of two that will be honored at the ASCE banquet on Thursday.

In spring 2012, VCPWA WPD began working on the project that would replace traditional concrete gutters in the Ventura County Government Center’s 39-acre parking lot with a pervious concrete gutter system that captures, treats and infiltrates runoff from the existing impervious surfaces. The innovative design provides a low-cost and low-maintenance option for removing stormwater pollution during the most contaminated First Flush portion of each storm.

Over 5,000 linear feet of pervious concrete gutters and over 13,000 square-feet of pervious concrete strips were constructed to capture over 200,000 gallons of First Flush runoff per event.

— Alicia Rutledge is a publicist representing the Santa Barbara/Ventura Branch of the American Society of Civil Engineers.