George Caamano of Stormwater Online, Inc. Gives ISRI Lecture on Affordable Stormwater Treatment

ANAHEIM, Calif., Dec. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A recent lecture given by our director George Caamano at the ISRI Safety and Environmental Counseling Convention discussed stormwater chemistry and affordable treatment systems. This lecture provided those present at the ISRI convention with some basic chemistry that led Stormwater Online to develop a solids-removal focus for storm water treatment technology. In summary, the logic is as follows:

Metals can appear as dust or fine particles. When first in contact with water, most particles will be large enough to filter. As filtration is by far the cheapest treatment option, this is ideal; however, a portion of the metals can dissolve too small to filter. If the water is filtered first, these remaining dissolved metals may then be treated using media or chemical treatment.

This is the case for all facilities with storm water limitations, not just scrap yards. Determining the size of particles in a given yard, and the amount of dissolved metals, is critical for determining the size, type, and cost of that yard's stormwater treatment systems. For instance, if a yard has primarily large particles, it may meet its effluent goals with simple filtration. If not, instead of spending money treating the initial contaminant concentration, it's possible the metals levels will be reduced by over 95% with just filtration. Because only 5% of the contaminants are left to treat, this means in terms of a treatment unit's footprint, initial cost, and maintenance, storm water can be treated for less.

This lecture was very well-received by those in attendance, and because of the popular demand for a way to find out the particle size of their facility's storm water, Stormwater Online has developed a particle size distribution experiment they are offering to the public.