Smart Sponge Technology Fights Bacteria at Rhode Island's Scarborough Beach
The Natural Resources Defense Council’s 2004 Annual Report identified Scarborough State Beach, Rhode Island, as one of the three top performers in the nation for protecting its beachgoers from contaminated water. This recognition was a far cry from the previous season when this popular beach closed six times because of high levels of bacteria. Following those closures, Rhode Island’s Departments of Transportation, Environmental Management, and Health formed a team committed to remedy the high bacteria concentrations. In June 2004, Rhode Island Governor Don Carcieri officially launched the team project.
Cindy Baumann, director of Engineering for Crossman Engineering and a project consultant, said, “The core of the solution involves diverting the flow of runoff from Scarborough’s five storm water outfalls through a filtering system.” Baumann worked to design a system of 100-foot pipes running parallel to existing pipes that exit into the bay. The drainage piping is filled with an antimicrobial material – Smart Sponge® Plus – developed and patented by AbTech Industries.
Field tests released in April 2005 revealed the effectiveness of the Smart Sponge Plus. After testing over 200 samples in both dry and wet weather after three major storm events, the maximum removal rates for fecal coliform ranged from 89.4 to 99.6%. In the same sampling process for Enterococcus, the maximum removal rates ranged from 96.2 to 99.9%.
Glenn Rink, AbTech’s president and CEO, said that Scarborough Beach’s application of the Smart Sponge Plus demonstrated the tremendous versatility of the product. “The Smart Sponge Plus has proven effective for removing bacteria concentrations in stormwater runoff with the Ultra Urban Filter® Catch Basin Insert in dozens of municipalities, but this is the first time the product has been used in this way. We’re excited about the success of the project and congratulate Scarborough Beach for receiving such high recognition from the Natural Resources Defense Council.”
Source: AbTech