Rush Creek, LLC constructed a 40-acre, $9M lodge in Tuolumne County just ½ mile west of the Highway 120 entrance to Yosemite. The expansion includes over 15 buildings spread out over the heavily forested site. The bulk of the structures are small podium-style cottages to house the staff as well as guests. The main lodge structure, office, and reception building has been carefully sited to avoid impacts to the existing trees and hillside. The main structure is placed on an old dirt fill area created by Caltrans when Highway 120 was widened in the 1960s, further lessening the impact of the structure. Given the isolated and rural nature of the site, utilities are completely self-contained with four 2,000-gallon compressed natural gas (CNG) tanks servicing the entire campus and water supplies coming from multiple low-yield wells. With low infiltration rates, sewer disposal methods include some greywater capture leading directly to landscape beds as well as conventional septic tanks leading to pre-manufactured clarifier/filtration units that allow for even more capture of non-potable water that is then safely dosed to the campus irrigation system and the limited drip leach fields. To enhance the efficiency of the leach field system a drip system was employed which not only increased the system’s ability to dose effectively it was half the cost of a chamber-style system. The campus is fortunate to have several historically well-performing but low-yield and good-quality water wells that are used for domestic and firewater. Due to the number of structures and the size of the structures, the system is supported by a 280,000-gallon water supply tank perched nearly 150 feet above the nearest structures thereby eliminating the need for booster pumps. With steep terrain and little budget to invest in roadways, roadway rehabilitation was a challenge that the Siegfried team was readily equipped to handle. With some site retainage required, Siegfried sourced local quarries for stacked stone walls. Coupled with the miles of infrastructure are numerous water quality systems and basins that filter, clean, and infiltrate the valuable stormwater.
- Civil Engineering
