RI Department of Environmental Management Announces Updated Stormwater Technologies

In our never-ending quest for better ways to manage and clean stormwater, The Green Infrastructure Coalition and its members try to keep abreast of the newest technologies. Recently, a number of new technologies have been reviewed and accepted by the RIDEM Stormwater Technical Review Committee: the Jellyfish Filter, the Stormceptor, and the Cascade Separator.

These technologies are designed to reduce runoff and trap pollution/excess nutrients for specific types of sites.

The Jellyfish Filter uses high surface area filter fabric cartridges, which can be removed for cleaning, to treat stormwater. Learn more about the Jellyfish Filter.

The Stormceptor is a hydrodynamic separator that uses swirl technology to separate sediment and has a space to store captured hydrocarbons. Learn more about the Stormceptor.

The Cascade Separator excels at sediment capture and retention while also removing hydrocarbons, trash, and debris from stormwater runoff. Learn more about the Cascade Separator.

The City of Providence, RIDOT and the Providence Parks Department are hoping to install a Jellyfish filter at the inflow to Roger Williams Park to remove pollutants coming from the upper watershed and improve water quality. Once installed, the Providence Stormwater Innovation Center, the University of New Hampshire and RIDEM want to monitor this system for water quality improvements and use the installation to provide training to municipalities and stormwater practitioners that will be maintaining them. A virtual training outlining Jellyfish filter design best practices, case studies and regulations is also being developed for later this winter. More details regarding the training will be shared as they become available.

The products are sold by Contech Engineered Solutions LLC, which showed via third-party testing that the Jellyfish Filter can remove at least 85% of total suspended solids, 30% of total nitrogen, 50% of total phosphorus, and 60% of pathogens from stormwater runoff.

Contech also has shown via third-party testing that the Stormceptor and Cascade Separator are able to remove at least 25% of total suspended solids from stormwater runoff. These products are intended for commercial and municipal use.

DEM Acting Director Terry Gray said, “Cleaner beaches and shellfish beds start with better stormwater control in our municipalities. I appreciate the efforts of DEM’s Office of Water Resources in evaluating and approving essential green infrastructure technology to help mitigate the scourge of stormwater.”

Proprietary devices that are approved as water quality BMPs in Rhode Island must be designed to treat the first inch of stormwater runoff produced by a site’s impervious surfaces (such as roadways, roofs, and parking lots) during a rainfall event. Similarly, pre-treatment devices must pre-treat the first inch of stormwater runoff. Treating the first inch of runoff from impervious surfaces is essential because it provides treatment for approximately 90% of annual rainfall events which ensures that treatment devices capture the “first flush” of a storm, where most of the pollutants can be found. Approved proprietary devices also must be designed, built, and maintained to meet the conditions specified in their technology-specific DEM certification letter. Visit the DEM's website for the list of DEM approved devices.

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The Rhode Island Green Infrastructure Coalition provides communication resources, trainings on maintenance of green infrastructure installations, and shared knowledge on successful sites and green infrastructure installations around the state.

Nature At Work is a newsletter designed and distributed by the Rhode Island Green Infrastructure Coalition to bring more green space news to our cities and encourage the use of nature to clean, protect, and cool our neighborhoods. Because of climate change, we are seeing increased heat impacts in our city, especially where there are fewer trees, as well as issues with flooding and polluted runoff in our neighborhoods.

The Green Infrastructure Coalition is a collaborative of more than 40 non-profit organizations, businesses, and government agencies focused on using nature to reduce stormwater pollution. We develop projects to demonstrate the powerful role nature can play to create healthier urban environments. We promote policies to create sustainable funding for stormwater management and green infrastructure solutions. And we connect a wide range of partners to share lessons learned in the Providence Metro area and Aquidneck Island.

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