Updated: Tuesday, 02 Jun 2009, 6:36 PM CDT
Published : Tuesday, 02 Jun 2009, 3:15 PM CDT
When a heavy rain hits, storm drains are our first line of defense against flooding. But Austin's rules are changing.
Carey Witt of Geo Solutions made it rain on a perfectly sunny day, to demonstrate Austin's newest storm drain technology for us. OK, it wasn't really raining, but a high-pressure hose does the trick.
The technology is a filter that slides into the storm drain. It captures dirt and trash, so they don't end up in our streams and creeks.
"Typically you see them on construction sites, such as this," said Witt.
The city of Austin recently began requiring these new filters at construction sites. The old version is covered by a thick material that feels like a blanket, held in place with sandbags.
"A lot of the debris that's supposed to be caught by these is not being caught by the device, because it's not working properly," Witt said.
Because the material was so thick, the old filters didn't let enough water through, and that often led to street flooding.
"It sort of creates a dam and so they don't function very well," said Witt.
Other times, the filters and sandbags would break, sending trash and sediment into shoal creek and other waterways. Not so with the new filters, which are made of a strong, rubber-like netting. In our test, it caught most of the debris, and never flooded the street.
"You can see the amount of sediment this device captures," said Witt as he pulled out the filer.
The new filters cost about the same as the old ones, are easily cleaned, and are good for the environment.
"Water goes where it's supposed to, in the storm drain," said Witt.
And trash and dirt stay out.
The filters are mainly used around construction sites, which generate a lot of dirt and debris. The new rules went into effect in April.
