StormwateRx LLC, a provider of industrial storm water treatment and filtration systems, announced that customer Calbag Metals Co., a non-ferrous metal recycling facility located in Portland, Ore., has consistently achieved full compliance with the state of Oregon’s storm water quality benchmarks for the past year since installing the StormwateRx Clara and Aquip storm water treatment systems. The StormwateRx solution, which uses the Clara storm water separator for pretreatment oil and grease reduction along with the Aquip industrial storm water filtration system to remove total suspended solids and metals, has helped Calbag reduce the potential for pollutants to enter waterways from storm water runoff at its facility.
The StormwateRx system at Calbag is part of a comprehensive site management plan that includes a full range of BMPs, according to StormwateRx. In addition to installation of the Clara and Aquip systems, Calbag has strategically located receiving, storage and processing areas in covered portions of the site, and deployed a sweeper to reduce particulates entering the system.
“After years of struggling to stay below permit benchmarks, despite consistent effort and all the right BMPs, we didn’t quite believe StormwateRx was going to get us there--until we saw our first sampling results,” said Greg Will, operations manager at Calbag Metals Co. “The Aquip filter has vastly outperformed our previous filter system and brought us into full compliance. We’re now anticipating installation of an Aquip system at our Tacoma yard.”
The Calbag Portland recycling facility covers 4 acres and processes metals including copper, zinc and lead. The facility had been using catch basin inserts along with an oil/water separator and a cartridge filter with compost media to treat the site’s storm water prior to discharge. Though the cartridge filter noticeably reduced contaminants in Calbag’s storm water discharge, it was not able to achieve adequate copper or zinc removal to meet the site’s storm water permit requirements.
StormwateRx LLC supplied Calbag with a Clara 25C and Aquip Model 170SBE system customized for Calbag, based on historic storm water sampling data from the site as well as the known pollutants commonly found in scrap yard storm water runoff. The systems were installed in a treatment train approach that first passes storm water runoff through the Clara plug-flow separator to reduce oil and grease and particulates as a pretreatment to the Aquip system. The Aquip industrial storm water filtration system then uses both inert and sorptive media to remove total suspended solids and metals from the storm water. Due to its relatively small footprint, above-ground configuration, and passive (gravity operated) flow-through design, the StormwateRx system was easily integrated into Calbag’s existing facilities with minimal construction cost, StormwateRx said.
“Calbag has made significant efforts to keep their storm water runoff as clean as possible, and we are happy that we’ve been able to help them reach and exceed their benchmarks,” said Cal Noling, president and CEO of StormwateRx LLC. “The Clara and Aquip systems work together to provide a high degree of pollutant removal, perfect for metal fabricators, scrap metal recycling facilities and any other industry where oils, metals and other particulates are a concern in storm water runoff.”
