Storm Water Drainage runoff contains a large variety of contaminants, ranging from physical nasties including syringes and condoms as well as regular community waste such as bottles, cans, packaging and of course organic material/sediment.

Storm Water Drainage infrastructure design selections will play a big part in the protection of our water ways in the future, its time we adapt our principles to reflect our learning.

Primarily reinforced concrete and steel, the infrastructure of the past decades, is thwart with adverse inherent features, that cannot be ignored.

For in excess of 10 years Shane Wormall of Western Australia and his companies Smartstream Technology Pty Ltd and Envirostream Catchment Management Pty Ltd have been actively involved in the Asset Management of third parties / local government drainage systems, the knowledge gained from these activities is priceless for designers wanting to move into the future responsibly.

Smartstream Technology is reputed for ‘thinking outside the square’ and initiating change so it comes as no surprise the company now offer designers a range of smarter drainage systems featuring enhancements to overcome inherent flaws found in traditional systems.

The products developed by Smartstream Technology reflect experience gained through many years of hands on research relative to the below ground drainage infrastructure and the variations in storm water quality.

Gross Pollutant Traps are an effective device used to trap (mainly physical) contaminants, however if not cleaned ultimately the contents will escape and overdose the downstream ecosystem with the same nasties that we intend to remove.

The Gross Pollutant Traps offered by Smartstream Technology boast the most versatile range of features available, including telemetric communications and automated water quality testing, giving consideration to the fact that such devices are evidently not always cleaned effectively.

Advanced material science has paved the way forward making it possible to build structures from inert materials such as plastic and / or composites, which is something that we must embrace.

Aside from the obvious weight savings plastic is superior due to its anti- corrosion characteristics and non porous properties.

Like a sponge, the porous walls of concrete, pipes, manholes and other drainage structures are very effective at absorbing and retaining many substances, including largely hydrocarbons.

Shane Wormall said “there have been many scenarios where an authority has intended to prosecute against a private company because of the nature of the discharge from its site, however when closely investigated it has been identified that the pipes and chambers downstream from the relative site will never stop releasing oil into the downstream environment, within the life of the storm drains and structures.”

The maintenance undertaken on most city drainage systems is appalling, we are very fortunate that comparatively globally Australia is a very young country and the age of most below ground infrastructure is only now reaching its expiration date, because the structural integrity of our deteriorating drainage systems is not satisfactory and will inevitably result in collapsed structures and road/verge subsidence. Concrete and steel are not suitable materials to feature within a humid and/or corrosive environment, such as drainage systems.

Aside from the structures, the contents of our systems will result in an increase of public liability claims, due to the fact that we do not clean our drains until such time as a residence becomes flooded… we must stop being reactive and move towards regular cleaning, giving consideration to seasonal factors.

Considering the fact that there would be almost zero pollutant trapping devices that would not contain dirty discarded syringes and the fact that if not cleaned, the contents of such a device will bypass and discharge downstream, which could be on to a community public open space….. ornamental community lake…. or like little Nemo said…. The ocean!

We must get it together to protect our environment and ourselves!