Innovative Storm Drain Best Management Practice

Storm drains and catch basins are often the last point where stormwater pollutants can be captured onsite. With each rainfall, storm event or snowmelt, they capture dirt, silt, trash, debris and even trace oils or heavy metals. Without regular cleaning and maintenance, they can become ineffective, allow pollutants to escape and contribute to flooding.

Those are just a few of the reasons why routine storm drain and catch basin cleaning and maintenance are often listed as a Best Management Practice (BMP) in many Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPPs). But it is a task that many facilities will try to put off as long as possible because it is time consuming, labor-intensive, dirty work.

Drain grates are heavy and hard to wrangle on and off the drain – not to mention their safety hazards. Few people even want to look at what has accumulated in the bottom of the catch basin, let alone spend time shoveling, pumping or vacuuming it out. And, for deep catch basins, you may need to have people trained on confined space entry to get the job done!

Traditional storm drain inserts claim to make the job easier by collecting solids and sometimes trace oils. But they’re expensive, quickly overwhelmed and can take even longer to switch out and maintain. When you remove the storm grate, they often fall into the catch basin. Even if they don’t fall in, they’re hard to retrieve because they can easily weigh 60-80 pounds. They’re also prone to rips and tears that allow solids to fall to the bottom of the catch basin – further negating any purported time savings or environmental benefits.

Most technicians and maintenance crews have better uses for their time and resources than schlepping junk out of storm drains – especially at facilities with significant rain events that necessitate weekly or monthly storm drain inspections and maintenance.

When our clients complained about these problems, we knew that stronger, heavier-duty versions of existing drain inserts weren’t the answer. They could still fall in. They’d still be heavy. They could still rip and tear. They’d still be expensive, awkward and time consuming to maintain.

Preventing dirt, debris, sediment and oil sheens from ever entering the storm drain basin was the key to saving time, minimizing costs, and making routine cleaning and maintenance easier.

In many cases, we’ve found that storm grates are located near the perimeter of paved areas and don’t see a lot of vehicle traffic. HuskyGuard^® Above-Drain Stormwater Filter solves compliance and maintenance issues for these areas.

Set on top of the storm grates, HuskyGuard^® can be installed by one person in less than 5 minutes with no special tools; and they do not require the storm grate to be lifted for installation or maintenance. They effectively capture oil sheens and block solids from entering the catch basin.

After a storm event or during scheduled inspection and maintenance; any dirt, silt, debris or trash that has accumulated around the drain can simply be swept up in just a few minutes, with very minimal effort. When the HuskyGuard^® has become fully saturated with oil, removal and replacement can again be completed in less than five minutes.

For high traffic areas or situations where aesthetics need to be maintained, the HuskyGuard^® Under-Drain Stormwater Filter helps to ensure stormwater flow management and can eliminate the need for storm drain flushing.

Unlike traditional storm drain inserts that rely on the weight of the drain grate to keep them in place and require up to 24 inches of depth for the collection bag to function properly, the Under-Drain HuskyGuard^® is installed just below the surface of the storm grate to capture oil sheens and make collecting solids easier.

The one-time frame installation can be completed in about half an hour by one person. The frame then stays in place, allowing the filter media to be held securely in place, directly under the storm grate and facilitating cleaning and maintenance.

Instead of removing the storm drain grate and fishing out the drain insert which has most likely fallen to the bottom of the catch basin, any dirt or debris that has accumulated can simply be removed from the top of the filtration media with a wet/dry vac. If a vacuum is not available, the drain grate can be lifted and any accumulation can be easily swept or collected at just 2-3 inches below the surface – not at the bottom of the basin.

Because storm drains are often the last line of defence against total suspended solids (TSS) and oil sheens leaving your facility and violating water quality standards, it pays to keep them well maintained. Replacing costly, time-consuming ineffective drain inserts with innovative sediment and oil filters will help you reduce maintenance costs, minimize safety risks and improve environmental compliance.