Stormwater July/August 2012 : Page 57
PROJECT PROFILE Protecting Water Quality at a Scrap Metal Recycling Facility F or more than 70 years, family-owned and oper-ated Davis Industries Inc. has been providing scrap metal recycling services for customers in northern Virginia and Maryland. The facility in Lorton, VA, recycles aluminum, mixed steel, brass, and copper from non-work-ing appliances, junk automobiles, and other consumer and industrial sources. The Davis Industries site operates seven cranes, an automo-bile shredder, shear, eddy/induction sorting system, and non-ferrous bailing system in addition to fork-lifts, skid steers, and excavators to assist in unloading large loads. With so much activity taking place on a 23-acre yard and large quanti-ties of both ferrous and non-ferrous metals being processed and tempo-rarily stored onsite, Davis Industries was concerned about meeting facil-ity discharge parameters for metals and suspended solids in stormwater runoff to local waterways. The facility currently operates under a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination Sys-tem (NPDES) permit with the state of Virginia and is required to fi le a facil-ity-generated Stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP). Upon testing, Davis Industries re-alized that in order to meet permit requirements, it would need to imple-ment some additional stormwater best management practices (BMPs), including augmenting its settling pond with a more robust stormwater fi ltration system that would remove dirt, sediment, fi ne particulates, hy-drocarbons, and dissolved metals from stormwater runoff. Davis began looking into storm-water treatment systems, seeking a design that was not complicated The industrial filtration system making sure we have the and could meet its water-provides stormwater best stormwater treat-quality goals without the pretreatment. ment equipment is part use of chemicals. “Most designs from other vendors of that commitment,” says Bukevicz. incorporated chemical treatments “The engineers at StormwateRx pro-to remove the concentrations to our posed a system that was innovative, benchmark levels,” says Bill Bukev-yet simple to use. And the company icz, executive vice president of Davis was easy to work with and very re-Industries. “But after looking into the sponsive to our needs.” Working with StormwateRx and various systems and design compo-nents, we determined that Storm-staff, Davis Industries began imple-wateRx had the products that would mentation of new stormwater BMPs. accomplish our goals and meet our It installed a StormwateRx treatment benchmark levels using physical train consisting of a Retenu basic stormwater fi ltration system to re-treatment instead of chemicals.” Davis Industries found the Storm-move dirt and concentrate solids, an wateRx systems to offer the highest Aquip enhanced stormwater fi ltration level of pollutant removal at a com-system to condition the water and petitive price, while also offering the remove hydrocarbons, and a Purus capability to be quickly and easily advanced stormwater polishing sys-retrofi t into the industrial site’s exist-tem for removal of fi ne particulates ing structures. With a cost-effective and dissolved metals. The Stormwa-solution in its reach, the company teRx treatment train ensures a high decided to set its sights on installing level of pollutant removal and water one the most environmentally pro-purifi cation prior to releasing storm-tective industrial stormwater treat-water back into the environment. The fi rst step in Davis Industries’ ment systems on the East Coast. “We are always looking for ways stormwater treatment train was the to improve the effi ciency and sus-installation of a basic industrial storm-tainability of our operations, and water fi ltration system for stormwater July/August 2012 www.stormh2o.com 57
Project Profile: Meeting Stormwater Requirements at a Scrap Metal Facility
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