Crews will install a storm water filter system, designed to keep harmful pollutants from entering Long Island Sound, in East Norwalk, Conn., next week. The system is part of a two-year U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-funded pilot project.
According to Terry Backer, executive director for Soundkeeper, a Norwalk-based environmental group, fifteen filters will be placed in catch filters along Second Street, New Street and Cove Avenue. Each filter contains a sponge that captures oil, grease, trash and contaminated sediment. The sponges are also treated with a material that kills bacteria, said Backer.
The first phase of the pilot project involved the successful installation of 275 filters in South Norwalk, Backer said. He added that the filters have killed 80 to 90 percent of the bacteria that would have entered the Sound otherwise.
"Bacteria is why they close beaches. Bacteria is what concentrates in shellfish," Backer said. "When you start looking at bacterias like E. coli, that limits the public's interaction with water.
While the filters do not capture metals such as chromium and lead, Backer said they have picked up the equivalent of a 1,200-gal oil spill in the form of garbage. "We've found potato chip wrappers, booze bottles, socks, shoes--you can find it all," he said.
When the project's two years are up in November, municipalities will have to assume responsibility for utilizing the technology. "We'll compile data from tests, have someone look over the data and vet it," said Backer. "Then we'll work up a price-versus-value ration for public works departments. If you can open up swimming areas you couldn't open up before, that's a big deal.'
The filters cost $600 to $1,000 each and need to be replaced every four to five years, according to backer. More than one-third of that cost goes toward a stainless steel collar that attaches the filter to the catch basin and boasts a 20- to 30-year lifespan, he added.
In contrast with sewage treatment plants, which have come under great scrutiny over the last 20 years, Backer called storm water runoff "the last great unregulated pollutant." A lack of storm water management, he said, is slowing down the cleanup process at the Sound. "Our storm water regulations are laughable," Backer said. "You have to sweep the streets once or twice a year and clean the catch basins once a year."
The Sound earned some of the worst ratings in the nation earlier this year, according to an EPA report. While the Sound's water quality received a fair rating, fish and sediment were found to possess high industrial pollutant levels.
It is too early to determine the effectiveness of the filters in curbing pollution in the Sound, said Mark Tedesco, head of the EPA's Long Island Sound Study. He said that using filters is just one solution to addressing runoff issues. "The filter project is the end of the line, it's that last-ditch effort where its your chance to catch [pollution] before it goes into local water," he said. "We're also interested in how we can minimize future increases in storm water pollution through better management decisions and growth patterns.
