The cost of stormwater treatment is increasing while municipalities across Canada apply stringent stormwater treatment requirements. An innovative solution from Enviropod Canada offers a value-engineered approach that will reduce the cost of stormwater management.
Building on the success of the Enviropod LittaTrap™ technology, 2019 Water’s Next Stormwater award winner, Enviropod Canada has released the EnviroBasin™: a catch basin and separator housed in a single unit that collects, treats, and conveys stormwater into the stormwater network.
This all-in-one device incorporates the revolutionary capture power of the LittaTrap™ inlet filter with additional flow-modifying components that enhance the capture and retention of trash and sediment. Installed in a concrete catch basin, the EnviroBasin™ offers a deeper sump to provide greater storage capacity, efficiently conveys peak stormwater flows without resuspension, and features a large sediment storage volume and separate trash storage for easy maintenance.
The EnviroBasin™ employs screening, energy dissipation, flow distribution, and gravitational settling to remove pollutants from stormwater runoff. The system functions by draining stormwater surface runoff through a grate, curb opening, or both. Once the runoff drops below the surface, it is diverted through the screened basket where a patented energy dissipation mechanism intercepts the flow, reversing its direction, and redistributing the flow across the surface area of the sump. This process enhances the capture and retention of sediment in the sump while retaining and storing gross solids, trash, plastic, and leaves (>5 mm) in a dewatered environment, which prevents them from breaking down and releasing nutrients other contaminants into the water.
The EnviroBasin™ is compact and can be applied in tight urban spaces, making it the ideal treatment for coastal areas or as a pre-treatment to rain gardens, swales, and other green infrastructure.
Many municipalities require Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) of proprietary treatment devices before acceptance in their jurisdiction as a stormwater management control measure. The ETV verification programme benchmarks the performance of all manufactured stormwater treatment devices, giving municipalities, consultants, and regulators confidence in the environmental outcomes of using innovative technologies.
In partnership with Good Harbour laboratories in Mississauga, Ontario and supervised by Aecom Canada, the EnviroBasin™ was tested by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), ETV Oil, and Git Separator Protocol. EnviroBasin™ received ISO 14034 verification in 2021, obtaining over 60 per cent removal of suspended sediment.
Value engineering is an approach to providing necessary functions in a project at the lowest cost by promoting the substitution of materials and methods with less expensive alternatives, without sacrificing functionality
Installing EnviroBasin™ on a project as an alternative to conventional catch basins not only removes the need for downstream oil and grit separators (OGS), it can also result in fewer pipes, maintenance holes, and other stormwater infrastructure in any stormwater project requiring transportation of stormwater to a central treatment point.
By targeting stormwater treatment at the source, device installation can be limited to high-contamination areas such as roads and car parks, avoiding treating flows from low-contaminated areas such as roofs and grassed areas.
And where conventional catch basins require frequent (1 -2 per year) maintenance by vactor truck to prevent pipe blockages and resuspension of capture material, EnviroBasin’s unique enhanced storage sump capacity extends vactor truck maintenance requirements to once every two-to-three years. Maintenance and whole-of-life costs are further reduced thanks to the LittaTrap™ basket which can easily be removed and emptied by hand as required.
Article published by Water Canada. Supplied by Enviropod.
