Stormwater pollution and management are complex and many factors influence rainfall and contamination of stormwater runoff.
Stormwater engineers have a toolbox of solutions that can be used to manage pollutant loads in stormwater. Model for Urban Stormwater Improvement Conceptualisation (MUSIC) is one tool that allows designers to conceptually design a network of solutions for a given catchment. MUSIC allows a combination of interventions to be trailed within the software to give the most efficient stormwater management plan that meets regulations and works within site restraints.
Most councils and regions have established regulation that requires that set percentages of pollutants in stormwater runoff be removed. Examples of these pollutants are:
• Sediments (TSS)
• Phosphorus (TP)
• Nitrogen (TN)
• Gross Pollutants
Targeting this range of pollutants to achieve strict local regulatory standards often requires a suite of technologies used in combination commonly called a “Treatment Train.”
Treatment trains utilise multiple types of stormwater treatment devices, Targeting different contaminants or characters of contaminants with each stage of the treatment train process.
The first part of a stormwater treatment train is commonly a pre-treatment device.
The EnviroPod200™ gully pit insert is a pre-treatment device located at the entrance to the stormwater pipe network. EnviroPod200™ efficiently captures Gross pollutants, coarser sediment (>100 micron), and particulate-bound nutrients.
The use of EnviroPod™ as part of a treatment train allows downstream devices to be sized more efficiently as greater pollutant removal is gained from runoff being treated by numerous processes.
For example, an EnviroPod200™ upstream of an underground cartridge filter such as a StormFilter™ or a Spel Filter will allow fewer cartridges to be used to meet water quality outcomes. The EnviroPod200™ will capture the majority of the sediment reducing the load on the filter.
Maintaining an EnviroPod™ is simply done with a vacuum truck or by hand and the 200-micron liner is washed, whereas maintenance of an underground filter requires removal and replacement of filter media with the cartridge being removed and sent back to the supplier with high replacement and freight costs.
The use of the EnviroPod™ results in a longer period before the cartridge exchange, greatly reducing maintenance costs
Similarly, the EnviroPod™ reduces the sediment and litter entering a Bioretention device or a wetland device. Removal of litter in these green infrastructure systems is labour-intensive but necessary to maintain their aesthetic value. Excessive sediment build-up in WSUD devices can result in media and/or plant replacement and even in some cases complete rehabilitation of the system. Easy to maintain pre-treatment devices and reduction in sediment loads greatly reduce the whole-of-life costs in these systems.
MUSIC allows you to vary the number, location, and type of device looking at overall pollutant removal ability and exploring the costs.
EnviroPod™ performance data has been reviewed and approved by councils across Australia. With each council having its own requirements, MUSIC nodes may vary from council to council.
Contact EnviroPod™ for more information on MUSIC nodes and nodes available for each local authority.
