The Stormwater World Podcast

Episode 004: “Every opportunity you have to interact or touch stormwater, improves it. And the Snout has proven to be a very cost effective and just flat out effective device in over 100,000 cases,” explains T.J. Mullen, president of Best Management Products, Inc. Today, T.J. joins host Ty to talk about BMP’s trash capture product the Snout and the ways it improves stormwater quality, especially in urbanized environments. As civil engineering continues to build up the world around us with impervious surfaces, properly capturing and filtering stormwater will become more and more important. 
The Snout is a vented water quality hood that sits inside a stormwater structure with a sump. The size installed depends on your maximum flow rate, and the bigger the Snout is the higher flow rate it can handle. Two of the most popular accessories for the Snout are the bio-skirt and the turbo-plate. The bio-skirt allows for the separation of hydrocarbons. It enables free oils to be absorbed into the structure and retained so that they won’t end up flushed away downstream. The turbo-plate reduces turbulence and velocity of the stormwater within the structure which actually increases the structure’s ability to remove sediment and fine particles. 
There are so many ways to improve stormwater quality and more in the making every day. One of the companies working hard to create products that improve stormwater management systems is Best Management Products. Learn more about the Snout and its accessories and how these products can help with trash capture so that you can be sure you are installing the most efficient and effective stormwater quality system available. 
Quotes:
“Every opportunity you have to interact or touch stormwater, improves it. And the Snout has proven to be a very cost effective and just flat out effective device in over 100,000 cases.” (2:52-3:04 | T.J.)
“One of the things that's important is that when the different snout options come up, there will always be a recommended maximum flow rate. So if you find that your flow rate is higher than what we recommend for that particular snout model, just upsize the size of the snout, the bigger snouts can handle more flow.” (6:41-7:01 | T.J.)
“The most popular accessory for the Snout is something called the bio-skirt. And the bio-skirt is a product that is for hydrocarbons. It allows not just for the separations to occur in the structure. But for these oils, the emulsified oils, pHs, your free oils to actually be captured and absorbed into this boom structure; and they’ll be retained, they won't just get mixed up and flushed downstream right away.” (7:24-7:53 | T.J.)
“Turbo Plates are designed to reduce the turbulence and velocity of the stormwater inside a structure. And when you reduce the velocity and the turbulence, you increase the ability of that structure to remove sediment and fine particles like TSS.” (8:31-8:50 | T.J.)
“We want you to leave that storm water a little bit better than how you found it going in, and with some really simple devices, you can make that happen.” (11:05-11:13 | T.J.) 
“You can look at water resources for drinking water, or for irrigation or that purpose. And then you can look at water resources as surface waters, places for recreation, go boating and fishing and the kinds of things I really love to do. So if you look at it those two ways, no matter how you slice it, no matter which water resource you're focusing on, you don't want trash and pollution fouling those resources. As we continue to develop our world, the impacts of that development creating impervious surfaces are going to further impact the quality of surface waters.” (18:51-19:34 | T.J.)
The views expressed are that of the individual and do not represent the opinions of any companies past, present or future.
Connect with Ty: 
Connect with Ty on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tygarmon/
Sign up to be a guest: https://forms.gle/whijSz9Tio3iZda57
Check out The Stormwater World Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9hVXVJ5oXplf_V9XOPpR6A
Podcast Website: https://stormwaterworld.com
 
Connect with T.J. Mullen:
Website: https://bmpinc.com/spec-a-snout/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tj-mullen-6834a417/
Stay Informed! Sign-up for the Stormwater World Newsletter: https://stormwaterworld.com/newsletter-sign-up
Please don't forget to rate, comment, and subscribe to Stormwater World Podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts!
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Episode 003: “Envirolok is a fully engineered geo-based system. The idea is to essentially fill the bags with a mixture of sand and topsoil, and the bags can then be vegetated. They're completely engineered for a permanent solution. So it becomes a great soft armored alternative to typical hard armoring systems for shoreline slopes, as well as other waterways,” explains Eric Seidl, director of business development at Envirolok. Today, Eric joins host Ty to talk about how Envirolok works as a more permanent solution for stabilizing slopes, particularly along shorelines. 
People tend to mistake green infrastructure for permanence, and that is not necessarily the case. Envirolok works better for streambank stabilization because it is a permanent system. The material is permeable and vegetative, so once the roots grow through the bags and hit the soil system just gets even stronger with time. This system is helpful not only for stormwater management but also in places where boats are causing shoreline erosion. Many lakefront and riverfront communities suffer damage from boat owners not respecting no wake zones or staying far enough from shore, and these communities can benefit from installing the Envirolok system. 
Many very popular communities are cropping up around man-made lakes. The shorelines see constant damage from overzealous boat owners, and developers would be wise to consider more permanent solutions rather than defaulting to green infrastructure. Learn more about the Envirolok system and how it works to stabilize slopes with very little required maintenance. 
 
Quotes:
“Envirolok is a fully engineered geo-based system. The idea is to essentially fill the bags with a mixture of sand and topsoil, and the bags can then be vegetated. They're completely engineered for a permanent solution. So it becomes a great soft armored alternative to typical hard armoring systems for shoreline slopes, as well as other waterways.” (1:05-1:27 | Eric)
“When you're cruising along at massive speeds, you're throwing waves 8 to 10 feet over the top of the shoreline. And that's where Envirolok really comes into play.” (6:31-6:42 | Eric) 
“There is no one solution for shoreline stabilization, waterways or slopes that fits every single site. And for us, it's more about collaborating with our clients, collaborating with our regulatory agencies, and making sure that what we have is the right fit.” (12:47-13:01 | Eric)
“The biggest hurdle that we have sometimes in initial conversations is people are expecting the bag system to be really simple and biodegradable, and that's not the case.” (15:00-15:12 | Eric)
“Biodegradable bags and sacks are great, but what happens is, you get one area where you have some vegetation loss, and that could happen in year one, year two, year five, and you're back at square one where that area is going to fail, because it's no longer protected. Because there's nothing there remaining, where with our system, again, the bags are going to be permanent.” (15:40-16:00 | Eric)
“Another advantage is the material that we're using in the bag is about a 70% sand, 30% topsoil mix. So in addition to being great growing media for plant material, it also acts as a filter for some of the pollutants that might be flowing over on their way down to the lakefront.” (18:12-18:30 | Eric)
The views expressed are that of the individual and do not represent the opinions of any companies past, present or future.Connect with Ty: 
Connect with Ty on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tygarmon/
Sign up to be a guest: https://forms.gle/whijSz9Tio3iZda57
Check out The Stormwater World Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9hVXVJ5oXplf_V9XOPpR6A
Podcast Website: https://stormwaterworld.com
 
Connect with Eric Seidl:Website: https://www.envirolok.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-seidl-1a1085136/Stay Informed! Sign-up for the Stormwater World Newsletter: https://stormwaterworld.com/newsletter-sign-up
Please don't forget to rate, comment, and subscribe to Stormwater World Podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts!
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Episode 002: “Water is gonna come at a premium, especially if you're in the city and you don't have a well, which most of these houses don't have a well. They're fed by city water, and you're subject to whatever that cost is,” explains Mark Wharton, president of Stormwater Professionals Group. Today, Mark joins host Ty to talk about Texas stormwater and how the Lone Star state is approaching stormwater management post Hurricane Harvey. 
Mark read an article ten years ago that stated water would become the next oil, and it is still an important prospect to consider. Water is going to continually increase in value, so anyone who is relying on city water rather than having a personal well is going to be subject to constantly increasing premiums. In the city of Houston, TX, they are relying heavily on building detention basins as a stormwater management solution. These are helping to provide relief and also creating wetland areas that can be beneficial for the ecosystem. Harris County and the city of Houston also benefit from stricter post-construction inspection laws. Whereas basins in nearby Austin and San Antonio are not required to be checked for three or four years after being built, those in Houston must be inspected on a yearly basis. This is important because it ensures proper maintenance and reduces the number of problems that need to be addressed long term and also causes property owners to have a little more skin in the game. 
Texas has had several heavy stormwater events in recent years including the devastation of Hurricane Harvey. Rebuilding and managing the damage caused by this build-up of stormwater is still a challenge of civil engineering that Texas property owners are handling today. Learn how Houston, TX is using detention basins to relieve low-lying older residential areas of stormwater build-up. 
 
Quotes:
“We don't want to offend the civil engineer. But you know what the reality is, is that I get calls constantly from civil engineers asking us how to skin that cat, how to provide stormwater quality. And obviously, our end user is really our customer, right? I have to look at his needs, and not necessarily engineers. Because to be candid, I've had conversations with engineers that went something like this, ‘what are you looking for in stormwater quality products? What are you guys looking for?’ And the answer is always the same, whatever is the easiest, right? Whatever is the easiest. I don't know that I agree with that.” (5:23-6:17 | Mark) 
“The knee-jerk reaction from Harvey is to require more detention.” (10:18-10:23 | Mark)
“What the city is doing and the county is doing, Harris County and the city of Houston, is helping alleviate those low lying residential areas, older residential areas that need some relief, and they're getting that relief by these detention basins that are being installed.” (12:38-12:53 | Mark)
The views expressed are that of the individual and do not represent the opinions of any companies past, present, or future.Connect with Mark Wharton:
https://stormwaterprofessionalsgroup.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-wharton-415ba246/
Connect with Ty: 
Connect with Ty on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tygarmon/
Sign up to be a guest: https://forms.gle/whijSz9Tio3iZda57
Check out The Stormwater World Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9hVXVJ5oXplf_V9XOPpR6A
Podcast Website: https://stormwaterworld.comStay Informed! Sign-up for the Stormwater World Newsletter: https://stormwaterworld.com/newsletter-sign-up
Please don't forget to rate, comment, and subscribe to Stormwater World Podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts!
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Episode 001: “We're pumping water out of the groundwater like it's never going to run out. And nowhere do we talk about replenishing that groundwater and putting it back down below,” shares Doug Buch, owner and president of PaveDrain. With the focus on green infrastructure, many developers are turning to stormwater detention ponds without fully understanding the long term risks to the environment. Today, Doug joins host Ty to discuss the issues caused by stormwater detention ponds and the value of letting nature do its job of filtering water like it has been forever. 
One of the biggest problems in civil engineering today is people’s tendency to choose the cheapest solution to stormwater management and then later need everything re-done. When people use less expensive materials and cut corners, there tends to be more issues to fix down the road. Often the more expensive solution is more economical in the long run. Nowadays there is a big push on creating stormwater detention ponds as an easy solution to stormwater management. However, just because it is relatively easy to catch all this water and form a bunch of ponds does not mean it is the ideal solution. There are thousands of ponds now and all the stormwater is being directed there instead of having a chance to re-enter the water cycle underground. Meanwhile, people continue to use groundwater as if there is an infinite supply, which there won't be if we don’t ever replace it with the stormwater from the sky. Nature has been filtering water forever through gravity, and we are preventing nature from doing its job effectively by routing all the stormwater to these ponds. 
Stormwater detention ponds get in the way of Mother Nature’s ability to do her job filtering stormwater and returning it from the ground back into the ecosystem. Tune into Stormwater World for a conversation with Doug Burch about the myths surrounding the efficacy of detention ponds. Learn alternatives for stormwater management and the pros and cons of continuing to create these man made ponds. 
 
Quotes:
“We're pumping water out of the groundwater like it's never going to run out. And nowhere do we talk about replenishing that groundwater and putting it back down below.” (27:05-27:15 | Doug)
“There's got to be a balance between d*** ponds everywhere we go versus us.” (27:43-27:52 | Doug)
“This is a cool technology. We pulled up a couple of blocks that had been installed for a long time, and we pounded a stainless steel rod down there with a float valve. But it's got a perforated stainless steel rod with a float valve built into it. Hooked it up to a solar powered battery pack on top of those look alike pay drain blocks, sent that signal up to a post up on top of a rooftop and sent that signal to a computer that showed how much water was being captured and caught and how long it was taking to drain. That's a simplistic way of doing it, but you got a beautiful thing.” (40:57-41:34 | Doug)
“They have proven out that a lot of models are not off by a little, sometimes they're off by a lot.” (45:49-45:56 | Doug)
“Sometimes the most expensive thing is also the most economical thing you can do.” (49:00-49:05 | Doug) 
The views expressed are that of the individual and do not represent the opinions of any companies past, present or future.
Connect with Doug Buch:
https://www.pavedrain.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougbuch/
https://www.hydrocad.net/pavedrain.htm
Connect with Ty: 
Connect with Ty on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tygarmon/
Sign up to be a guest: https://forms.gle/whijSz9Tio3iZda57
Check out The Stormwater World Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9hVXVJ5oXplf_V9XOPpR6A
Podcast Website: https://stormwaterworld.com
Stay Informed! Sign-up for the Stormwater World Newsletter: https://stormwaterworld.com/newsletter-sign-up
Please don't forget to rate, comment, and subscribe to Stormwater World Podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts!
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Trailer: “In the last 10 years in the stormwater industry, what I've learned is that I've got a ton more to learn. And I think most people are like me, they're curious, and they want to learn,” shares host Ty Garman. Ty has attended close to 200 stormwater conferences, countless webinars and a few certification courses. Even with all this knowledge, Ty has found that some of the best information actually comes from one-on-one conversations with other people involved in the industry and wants to share this knowledge with all of you.
Ty’s podcast, Stormwater World, will bring together the knowledge from subject matter experts all across the stormwater industry so that everyone can benefit from these conversations. If you have interest in the stormwater industry or want to learn more about how stormwater affects civil engineering, green infrastructure, and low impact development be sure to subscribe to Stormwater World.
Tune in to hear from some of the biggest minds in the stormwater industry as they bring their knowledge and expertise to the table. 
 
Quotes:
“In the last 10 years in the stormwater industry, what I've learned is that I've got a ton more to learn. And I think most people are like me, they're curious, and they want to learn.” (0:23-0:32 | Ty) 
“Most people, if you ask them, are willing to generally share the knowledge that they have.” (0:35-0:40 | Ty)
“After everything that I've attended, what I have found, and I'm willing to bet, those that are listening will probably feel the same way, is that some of the best information is not always in that class, or in that book, or in that presentation. Some of the best information is in one on one conversations that I've had with people out in the hallway, or after the class, or sometimes after the event is completely over. So that's the goal of this podcast is I want to bring those conversations directly to you. So I'm going to be interviewing subject matter experts across the stormwater industry, so that we can take those conversations out of the hallways and bring them to this podcast, so that we can all learn and benefit from them together.” (0:41-1:24 | Ty)
Connect with Ty: 
Connect with Ty on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tygarmon/
Sign up to be a guest: https://forms.gle/whijSz9Tio3iZda57
Check out The Stormwater World Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9hVXVJ5oXplf_V9XOPpR6A
Podcast Website: https://stormwaterworld.comStay Informed! Sign-up for the Stormwater World Newsletter: https://stormwaterworld.com/newsletter-sign-up
Please don't forget to rate, comment, and subscribe to Stormwater World Podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts!
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm