Storm drain filters and stormwater filters are practical tools that keep debris and pollutants out of the water system. Between 2001 and 2010, monitoring of fresh water sites in California found that over 50 percent of collection sites showed a degree of toxicity or pollution that was harmful to fish or other aquatic life. In order to prevent that from happening, communities would be wise to install stormwater filters as part of a stormwater management plan that minimizes stormwater pollution. Doing so can go go a long way towards making sure that the water a community depends on remains safe.
According to studies conducted by the University of California, stormwater filters were able to remove 81.6 percent of lead and 54.3 percent of copper from the water that passed through them. On top of that, catch filters were also able to strain 98.3 percent of the grease, fats, and oils that passed through. Because stormwater runoff is likely to have many of those, and other, harmful substances in it, a stormwater treatment plan can be very useful. Naturally, stormwater filters will be an essential part of any of those plans.
While catch basins and curb inlets may serve as the first opportunity for water treatment systems to take pollutants out of stormwater, they might not catch everything. If that is the case, stormwater filters might be used to get any excess material. Because they are able to remove so many harmful substances from water, stormwater filters can prove to be a very useful tool. They are simple enough that nearly any community will be able to install and reap the benefits of them.