Storm Water Quality graduates install biofilter box at Waipahu High
Participating educators and student internship graduates from the Department of Facility Maintenance (DFM) Storm Water Quality (SWQ) Division sponsored 2020 SWPPPTM Internship Program recently installed a Grattix biofilter box at Waipahu High School to reduce storm water pollution. Through the program, the students discovered a building on campus that had an issue with bird droppings which caused a high level of harmful nutrients. They designed a proposal and presentation with a solution to this problem which included the installation of the Grattix biofilter box to collect runoff from the building.
“We’re so proud of our SWPPP interns for identifying a need at their school and successfully installing the Grattix biofilter box,” said Roger Babcock, Jr., Ph.D., P.E., Director and Chief Engineer of the DFM. “The Grattix system helps to improve the storm water quality and management on their campus and provides students with a myriad of ongoing learning opportunities and professional development.”
Grattix is an innovative system that removes pollutants in stormwater from roofs and downspouts. Waipahu High School teachers plan to use their installed system to conduct year-to-year experiments with their students in order to assess efficacy of pollutant removal and re-design for optimal outcomes.
The inaugural SWPPPTM Internship Program was launched at Waipahu High School in the 2019-2020 school year. The program is designed to educate, train and empower students to develop sustainable solutions to reduce stormwater pollution from their school site. In addition to developing sustainable solutions to reduce stormwater pollution around their community, the SWPPP interns were able to connect the hands-on work they were performing in Waipahu with the work performed by stormwater professionals in their city.
For more information on the SWPPP Internship Program, visit the BCK Programs, LLC web at https://www.swpppinternship.com/ or call (808) 768-3248.
