PORT TOWNSEND SEmD Some might mistake it for just another Dumpster, but the Port of Port Townsend believes the compact blue StormwateRx filtration systems are new technology that will keep the port’s boat and ship yards environmentally sound and sustainable.
Port workers were installing a concrete pad for one of the two state-of-the-art storm-water filtration systems that will stop heavy metals copper, zinc and lead from washing off boats into Port Townsend Bay.
“This is the latest and greatest technology for clean water,” Port Deputy Director Jim Pivarnik said.
The port chipped in $150,000 to go with a $350,000 state Department of Ecology grant to acquire the StormwateRx system developed by the Portland, Ore., company of the same name.
Cash was short
Pivarnik said the port was pressed to come up with the cash at a time when the shipyard is nearly empty and the boatyard is far less busy than in 2006.
“Alaska has basically killed us” in the shipyard, Pivarnik said, with large commercial fishing vessels that normally came to Port Townsend in the fall for seasonal maintenance and repairs remaining at yards in Alaska to save money.
Under the grant agreement, the port must have the new system installed and running by October, before the rainy season begins.
Both Pivarnik and port Executive Director Larry Crockett have in the past warned that hull reconditioning at the boatyard and rising levels of heavy metals found in the port’s existing storm-water filtration system threaten to shut down the yard, which would be financially devastating to the marine trades, a major employer in East Jefferson County.
According to StormwateRx, the hull-reconditioning process releases fine dust particles containing heavy metals such as copper, lead and zinc.
Toxic threats
Copper and zinc are toxic to aquatic organisms; lead is a human carcinogen.
At most boatyards, rain landing on the ground picks up the fine particles, dissolves some of the heavy metals and transports the pollutants into storm-water drain lines and adjacent waterways.
The system does not require power or pumps to operate and has five levels of filtration inside, with the top level having to be changed out every six months to properly filter polluting marine yard metals.
“The biggest issue we now have with Ecology is turbidity from dust,” Pivarnik said, talking about the port’s existing storm-water system that consists of 30,000-gallon underground tanks. “We’re showing the state that we’re serious about clean water.”
Waste taken from the existing storm-water system has to be routinely removed and taken to a hazardous materials facility for disposal.
As part of the port’s grant from Ecology, representatives of both parties will closely monitor the StormwateRx system.
Pivarnik said the technology is new to Ecology.
“We’re on a two-year cycle to test and report our findings to Ecology,” Pivarnik said.
The port’s agreement with Ecology will improve the port’s chances of renewing its yard permit with the state department.
Pivarnik said the port applied with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s shipyard grant program for two more StormwateRx systems but was turned down.
The two units are being installed at the southeast corner of the shipyard and adjacent to Townsend Bay Marine.
“These are the most important things we can be doing right now,” Pivarnik said.
Manufacturer
Founded in 2006, StormwateRx LLC manufactures storm-water filtration and provides treatment best-management practices for industrial sites.
The company’s website at stormwaterx.com states that the systems have been designed specifically with operating industrial sites in mind and for compliance with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Industrial and Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Stormwater Permit requirements.
“StormwateRx LLC was founded under the belief that the manufacturing and industrial sectors are critical elements of the U.S. and world economies and that a high standard of living depends on ensuring a livable environment for its workers and their families,” the company website states.
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Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
