Hermosa Beach storm water filtration system wins EPA award

Douglas Morino of the Daily Breeze (California): For years, a project to transform Pier Avenue in Hermosa Beach into a pedestrian friendly-haven was studied and scrutinized. Now that the multimillion-dollar remodel of the beach town's main drag is complete, it's the work done below ground that's getting most of the attention.

A public works project that collects storm water under the busy street and filters it with sand to irrigate landscaping has earned a national award from the federal government. City engineers spent nearly six years developing and working on the ambitious project, which includes a storm drain and water filtration system that keeps polluted water from reaching the ocean and allows it to be reused. The storm drain and infiltration system, part of the Pier Avenue Beautification Project, earned a 2010 Environmental Achievement Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The award was announced Thursday during a ceremony at Union Station in Los Angeles.

…The award-winning system uses gravity and sand to naturally collect and filter storm water, which is captured in one of 30 sidewalk drains - or infiltration basins - along the city's main drag. Contaminants, including leaves and trash, are filtered from the water in each of the basins, which are later cleaned out by city workers. Once captured, water saturates the soil below ground, which works as a sponge and natural filter.

From there, water is funneled through plastic pipes buried about four feet underground to the center of Pier Avenue, where it provides deep root irrigation along the street's landscaped median. No water is returned directly to the ocean.

"The project was innovative because rather than just putting in a traditional storm drain, (city engineers) thought outside the box," said Kathleen McGowan, a city-hired consultant who worked on the project. "I think it can be a model for what can be done in the South Bay."...

Hermosa Beach, shot by Christophe.Finot, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license