Elko Lake Road Maintenance

Elko Lake roads are private roads. There will always be ongoing maintenance requirements no matter what surface material we use.

Because we are a small community, our current membership dues severely limits the surfacing and maintenance options available to us.

We have very few contractors willing to travel to Elko Lake to work on our roads, which limits our options and bargaining power further.

In light of these constraints, Recycled Asphalt Pavement (RAP) was suggested as a cost-effective road surface. A roads committee was formed in 2024 to look into it further. The full Roads Committee memo is available here. Below are key points:

Asphalt is made using bitumen, a by-product of crude oil. As a result asphalt has an environmental impact, which is true of virtually any material from cement to gravel that is used to surface roads. But because asphalt paving is a bound material, the surface area for leaching petroleum by-products is minimized. That is not the case for unbound RAP.

No road contractor we contacted nor Roger Decker, Highway Supervisor for the Town of Rockland,  recommended using unsealed RAP on our roads because it is an inferior road surface on its own, and, if it is sealed as recommended, the cost rivals the cost of a fully paved road.

Peer-reviewed studies and recognized environmental data underscore why unsealed recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) poses unacceptable risks to our sensitive lakeshore setting:

Leaching of Toxic Contaminants

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)
RAP contains residual bitumen that can release carcinogenic PAHs when exposed to rain or moisture. Recent column-leach tests show detectable PAH concentrations exceeding modern groundwater cleanup target levels, even if older studies suggested low concentrations under outdated criteria. Link here >>

Heavy Metals
Studies have found that manganese, nickel, and lead readily leach from RAP stockpiles and in-place layers, sometimes exceeding the EPA’s Primary Drinking Water Maximum Contaminant Level of 15 µg/L for lead PMC. Link here >>  These metals bioaccumulate and can persist in sediments for decades.

Threat to Groundwater and Spring-Fed Hydrology
The Elko Lake community relies on a shallow, spring-fed aquifer. RAP’s fine particles and solubilized contaminants can migrate through permeable soils far more quickly than coarse, clean aggregate. Column experiments show that in fast-draining substrates—exactly like those feeding springs—contaminants break through within days of rainfall
ScienceDirect.

Once into the groundwater, these pollutants are effectively impossible to remove, putting both private wells and the lake’s headwaters at long-term risk.

Increased Sediment Load and Turbidity in the Lake
Unsealed RAP roads shed fine particulate matter (PM<10 µm) under traffic and weather. Road-adjacent studies link this to elevated turbidity and total suspended solids in nearby streams, which impair fish gill function, reduce aquatic plant photosynthesis, and smother invertebrate habitats.

Even small increases in fine sediment (<63 µm) can shift a clear, oligotrophic (low-nutrient) lake toward eutrophication, fueling algal blooms.

Dust and Human Health Concerns
Crushed bituminous particles generate respirable dust. PM<2.5 µm from RAP can penetrate deep into lungs, exacerbating asthma and other respiratory ailments. In a rural setting—where residents may rely on outdoor activities—this is a non-trivial quality-of-life issue.

Risks During Stockpiling and Construction
Before it’s even spread on roads, stockpiled RAP leaches contaminants at higher rates. The Thurston County (WA) Comprehensive Plan explicitly bans RAP reprocessing in gravel pits to prevent exactly this kind of runoff into groundwater. Link here >>

Better, Proven Alternatives Exist
Crushed Stone or Gravel with Geotextile Underlay: Properly graded crushed stone offers excellent drainage with minimal leaching risk. A non-woven geotextile base greatly reduces driving-surface rutting and washboarding.

Dust Abatement Treatments: Calcium magnesium acetate (CMA) or lignosulfonate binders suppress dust without toxic runoff, and degrade harmlessly over time.

Regular Grading & Crowned Profiles: A simple maintenance schedule (e.g. seasonal re-grading to restore crown) prevents water pooling and minimizes erosion.

Conclusion
Using unsealed recycled asphalt pavement may seem cost-effective in the short term, but the long-term issues of groundwater degradation and lake ecology harm far outweigh the upfront savings.

Can we turn our private roads over to Rockland County?
According to Roger Decker, Highway Supervisor for the Town of Rockland, the town is not interested in taking over our private roads. However, if we were to pursue that option (and the town can decline) it would be at the expense of the Elko Lake property owners to upgrade the roads to the Rockland Town Highway’s specifications which include width and drainage requirements. If, at that point, the Town of Rockland accepts our roads, Elko Lake would have to transfer legal title of our roads to the town. Even if that process was desirable, and the Town did assume responsibility for our roads. our tax rates could be expected to go up accordingly and potentially dramatically.