City of Aventura Preventing Nutrient and Stormwater Pollution of Biscayne Bay

Three years ago, the inaugural Biscayne Bay Marine Health Summit took place at Florida International University’s Biscayne Bay Campus. The event included presentations and discussion groups comprised of state and local government agencies, environmental nonprofits, and solution providers all with the same mission in mind: to establish collaboration among diverse stakeholders, in order to create an effective Action Plan for reducing pollutants in Biscayne Bay as well as in Miami-Dade County’s canals and rivers.

At the Summit, the City of Aventura Public Works Stormwater Manager learned about ways to prevent stormwater pollution with the use of stormwater inlet filters provided by SOP Technologies. Similar to cities around the world, Aventura was looking for ways to address the massive volumes of leaves and litter that enter stormwater systems.

The first video below shows trash in a stormwater catch basin, and the second video demonstrates how stormwater filters keep trash out of the basin.

Inlet withOUT a stormwater filter

Inlet with a stormwater filter

A few months after the Summit, Aventura began a pilot project with several stormwater filters along 188th street and 213th street. The pilot project demonstrated three things:

1. Filters prevent pollution by blocking leaves (nutrients) and street litter from traveling into the stormwater system/pipes and flowing into the Bay.

2. Filters reduce the city’s maintenance costs by keeping leaves and litter on the road for low-cost cleanup using street sweepers (as opposed to vacuum truck cleaning of catch basins).

3. Filters prevent floods that are caused by clogged stormwater pipes.

After several months with the pilot project, the city decided to expand the filter implementation to all curb inlets throughout the city. Due to the city-wide implementation, the Public Works Department earned the 2019 “Branch Stormwater Project of the Year” from the South Florida branch of the American Public Works Association (APWA).

In September 2019, before the second Biscayne Bay Marine Health Summit: The Action Summit, additional data were collected and quantified for several of the stormwater filters in Aventura. The data as captured according to recommendations from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). The analysis estimates that, every year, the stormwater filters prevent over 10,000 pounds of leaves and street litter from reaching stormwater catch basins and the Biscayne Bay.

Within the next few years, Aventura is expected to recuperate its initial investment in the filters and have a net cost savings of tens of thousands of dollars within 10 years. All of this is happening while the city prevents its stormwater pipes from clogging and causing street flooding during rain events. The full analysis report can be downloaded below.

VIDEO OF A CURB FILTER IN AVENTURA, FL

Map with photos of stormwater filters

Heal the Bay beach report card highlights stormwater pollution

Heal the Bay is a non-profit that, among other things, publishes an annual “Beach Report Card” for many beaches in California. Their report card highlights the impacts of stormwater runoff and pollution on California beaches.

Some screenshots from the 2020 report card:

Video interview

Watch the Spectrum News interview with Luke Ginger, Water Quality Scientist, from Heal the Bay.

“There have been less people out on the beach, so you think that there would be less trash; however, most of the trash ends up at the beach because it comes from more inland areas through the storm drain system”

— Luke Ginger

Preventing Stormwater Pollution

SOP Technologies prevents beach and ocean pollution issues with its patented stormwater filters. Learn more.

New ways to upcycle plastics, dead sea turtles, and less pollution in some places

Collaborative efforts around the world continue to gain strength to help communities address water pollution. This week, we highlight new efforts to address plastic pollution and research showing the impact of plastics on marine life. Here are some recent stories: 

Can upcycling really help the oceans? - GreenBiz

Source: Greenbiz.com

"As recycling rates drop and ocean pollution worsens, many innovators are taking marine debris, a notoriously unrecyclable material, and turning it into useful items. They’re turning all types of marine plastic trash, from old fishing gear to bits of broken-down hard plastic called microplastic, into new products. [...] Products currently made from recycled ocean plastic include shampoo bottles, skateboards, sunglasses, athletic shoes, sportswear, doormats, jewelry and board shorts. Some companies involved in ocean plastic "upcycling" are reporting encouraging numbers in keeping marine debris out of landfills and the ocean." Read the full story at Greenbiz.com

Coalition calls for oxo-degradable plastic ban - Edie.net

Source: Edie.net

"A coalition of businesses, NGOs, scientists and politicians have come together to call for a ban on oxo-degradable plastic packaging, which has been linked to microplastics pollution. [...] 

Oxo-degradable plastics are produced in many countries across the world, including the UK, and is broadly used in packaging and plastic carrier bags. These materials are often touted as a solution to plastic pollution, with some claiming that it biodegrades into harmless residues.

But researchers have disputed this assertion, with a mounting body of evidence showing that oxo-degradable plastics fragment into tiny pieces, including microplastics. This poses an environmental risk, evidence suggests, particularly in the ocean. On top of this, it is believed that these plastics are not suited for effective long-term, recycling at scale or composting." Read the full story at Edie.net 

Harbour cleanup efforts pay off - The Chronicle Journal

Source: The Chronicle Journal

"Thunder Bay’s long polluted harbour may not be so polluted any longer, according to the agency overseeing efforts to clean it up.

The Thunder Bay Remedial Action Plan (RAP) said Thursday that plankton levels have improved to the point where that particular problem should be removed from a list of specific concerns about the harbour’s water.

Plankton are microscopic organisms in the water column that fish feed on, and healthy levels generally indicate the water is in good shape.

If the harbour’s plankton is deemed to be no longer “impaired” and removed as an issue by Canadian and U.S. authorities, it could help efforts to have the city’s harbour to become de-listed as one of the Great Lakes areas of concern." Read the full story at The Chronicle Journal

Thousands of Dead Sea Turtles — SOS - Huffington Post

Source: The Huffington Post

"Sea turtles have swum the seas for a couple hundred million years. Today all seven species are in dire shape, especially in Australia and El Salvador.

There are four man-made culprits that are quickly driving these glorious masterpieces – the last vestige of the dinosaurs – off the planet: Fisheries, petroleum-based plastics, the climate crisis, and persistent organic pollutants.

Fisheries are annihilating everything in the seas. Thirteen million miles of longlines, or enough line to encircle the equator 522 times, with almost 2 billion legal and illegal hooks. In 2000 alone, according to Duke University workers, longlines murdered 200,000 loggerheads and 50,000 leatherback turtles." Read the full story at The Huffington Post

Coral thinks plastic is delicious - Treehugger.com

Source: Treehugger

"For years, scientists thought that marine animals eat plastic by accident. There is so much of it in the water and it's hard to differentiate it from real food, so it ends up getting eaten. But now research is showing that marine animals actually like the taste of plastic, adding a worrisome element to the pollution problem.

Some research has been done on fish, but now a recent study out of Duke University and published in the Marine Pollution Bulletin looks at coral's surprising preference for raw plastic. Scientists fed plastic micro-fragments and sand to coral polyps in a laboratory. They did this by dropping the piece near the coral and watching its reaction." Read the full story at Treehugger.com

SOP Technologies on a mission to Stop Ocean Pollution

SOP Technologies brings new solutions to address issues relating to floods, pollution and high costs of stormwater maintenance. Learn more at https://soptechint.com/