WPLG ABC Local 10 News - SOP Technologies

LOCAL 10 NEWS STORY ABOUT SOP TECHNOLOGIES

WPLG reporter Luis Aguirre interviewed Public Works departments from the City of Hallandale Beach and City of Miami about their efforts to implement SOP Technologies high-tech screens and storm drain markers with QR codes as a new weapon against litter in South Florida waterways. Watch the video below and read the full story here.

Headline: High-tech screens are new weapon against litter in South Florida waterways

“HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – It’s a big moment for the city of Hallandale Beach.

After months of planning, a new weapon is in place in the ongoing fight to stop street litter from getting into South Florida waterways — one that will soon also be coming to Miami.

The first of a set of high-tech screens are being installed at open curb inlets along the 800 block of Parkview Drive in Hallandale.

“It’s taken a while to get this project actually rolling but to see it’s going right now, I am extremely excited,” said Charles Casimir, the city’s assistant utilities director. “We have so much debris going into the intracoastal and into our waterways, so we’re trying to protect that.”

The screens are designed to trap the street litter before it enters the stormwater system, where it eventually flushes out into waterways and the intracoastal. It is a big win for the environment.”

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

Addressing Fish Kills in Biscayne Bay Florida

To address the problem of fish kills / die offs caused by low dissolved oxygen in Biscayne Bay, SOP Technologies has partnered with companies that provide solutions to oxygenate water. Please contact us to learn more, ask questions, and support the rapid implementation of water oxygenation solutions. Technologies to increase oxygen levels in waterways are available for implementation in Miami-Dade County, and we are here to help.

Oxygenating water with nano bubbles

Video from webinar on August 15, 2020

Environmental Compliance Equipment provides mobile units to oxygenate water with nano bubbles. From their website: “Nano bubbles have a diameter of less than 50 microns and unique physical characteristics that differ from other types of bubbles. They are too small to rise up through liquid and get compressed by negative ions at the gas-liquid interface so they don’t combine to form larger bubbles. This means they remain in the liquid for a long time. They eventually shrink leaving their entire gas load in the liquid. 

• Increased levels of Dissolved Oxygen (DO)

• Reduction in Biological Oxygen Demand and Chemical Oxygen Demand

• Eradication of fish kills that have historically occurred annually

• Eliminates Hydrogen sulfide thus preventing of unpleasant odors

• Water clarity increases allowing sunlight to penetrate to water

• Aquatic life returns

• Pond and sea bottoms restored, sediment and sludge cleaned over time
  for healthier return of different aquaculture species

• In application where sludge are present volume of sludge is reduced”

download cASE studies and technical documents

• Project to Eliminate Blue-Green Algae at the Outer Moat of the Imperial Palace Hibiya, Tokyo

• Anzai Ocean Cleaning

• Remediation of Lake Suwa - Japan

Map of recent fish kills (Source: Miami Waterkeeper)

Sargassum Issues and Solutions July 24, 2020 webinar

On July 24, 2020, representatives from the University of Miami, Florida International University, NOAA, ASOCEAN, Elastec and SOP Technologies presented and answered audience questions during the Sargassum Issues and Solutions webinar series.

WEBINAR VIDEO (download chat transcript)

July 24 webinar presenters/speakers:

• Organizers: Dr. Josefina Olascoaga, Emilio Lopez, and Dr. Valentina Caccia

• University of Miami / NOAA: Dr. Joaquin Triñanes (Remote Sensing Monitoring)

• University of Miami: Dr. Maria Josefina Olascoaga (Transport Prediction)

• University of Miami: Dr. Helena Solo-Gabriele with Afeefa Aleema (Bacteria)

• University of Miami-NOAA: Dr. Joe Serafy (Invertebrates)

• Florida International University: Dr. Ligia Collado-Vides (Sargassum Abundance & Others)

• ASOCEAN Mexico. Oceanographer: Joel Gonzalez (International Experience)

• Elastec: Duane Bennish (Sargassum Barriers)

• Questions and Answers with Audience, Facilitated by Emilio Lopez

• Closing Remarks: Josefina Olascoaga

• Sargassum Lunch Hour: Extended conversation time. Facilitated by Valentina Caccia