New Gordon Field drainage system not expected to affect Barker Creek

County staff are keeping Barker Creek at the forefront as they design a storm water drainage system for the proposed artificial turf installation at the Fairgrounds’ Gordon Field.

“Once the turf is installed it will have a pretty sophisticated drainage system,” said Bret Steck, maintenance supervisor for Kitsap County Facilities, Parks and Recreation.

A plan has been devised so that any run-off water will be contained, he added.

“We’re tight-lining (or keeping it in a pipe),” he said. “We’re taking the water down the ditch on Tracyton Boulevard on the west side to an area where it can perk ... We don’t have a final (design) on it yet, we don’t just want to throw it in.”

The county is aware of the erosion problems that have occurred in the nearby Barker Creek area and are keeping that in mind, according to Steck.

He has met with residents in the area as well as members of the environmental community group Chums of Barker Creek. Derek Schruhl, a board member of the group, has discussed the issue with county staff and has a few concerns of his own.

“Any kind of use up there has an impact on the stream’s ecosystem,” Schruhl said. “We still have a concern on what happens to the storm water when it leaves the field.”

He also is concerned with the wetlands that border Tracyton Boulevard.

“I don’t see it working,” he said.

In discussing the advantages of the artificial turf and its accompanying storm water system, Steck said there are many environmental pluses to having it installed.

“We won’t have to irrigate it, we won’t have to spray pesticides and we won’t have to fertilize it,” he said. “With natural grass all that goes into the ground.”

As soon as the final design is completed, park staff will have a preliminary meeting with Kitsap County Department of Community Development (DCD) staff and will then submit the design to the DCD.

Work also continues on the paving of the parking lot at Gordon Field. The project includes its own underground drainage system. Crews are ready to pave the area, but are waiting for a streak of dry weather.

“We’ll start sometime next week barring any storms,” Steck said in a phone interview last Wednesday.

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