Lougheed Bioswale – Coquitlam

The central section of the Lougheed Highway in Coquitlam was upgraded to improve stormwater control and water quality in the local salmon-bearing streams. The project features a 600 metre vegetated bioswale within the median that uses Ecomedia to treat the highway runoff to remove pollutants before they reached local freshwater fish habitat. The project was designed and managed by ISL Engineering and Land Services Ltd.

The runoff from the road is directed into the bioswale and allowed to infiltrate through Ecomedia into the ground. As the water saturates the media, it is treated to remove contaminants that would otherwise impact the downstream aquatic habitat and allowed to infiltrate into ground. This sustainable stormwater solution is designed to accommodate Coquitlam’s typically slow and constant rainfall, while providing capacity for potentially large storm events. The landscape scheme incorporates street trees, high profile shrubs and perennials that add aesthetic interest to the highway and assist in stormwater filtration and absorption.

Ecomedia is a reactive infiltration media designed to treat contaminants in stormwater such as hydrocarbons and dissolved metals including zinc, copper and lead in addition to suspended solids. It is used in place of standard growing medium in bioswales and meets BCLA specifications to ensure healthy plant growth. Special reactive amendments and microbial inoculants are added to aid in the treatment of contaminants.

Cascade Envirotech is a division of Yardworks Supply Ltd. We are committed to ongoing research and development to keep you at the forefront of the latest technologies for environmental management and sustainability.