Babylon Village to Install More Stormwater Pipe Filters

The Village of Babylon and AbTech Holdings, Inc. announced the results of a five-year study exploring the efficacy of AbTech's filtration technology in preventing stormwater contamination of the Great South Bay.

The study, which analyzed the contents of AbTech's Smart Pak cartridges from two outfall pipe installations located at Green and Alexander Avenues, found that Babylon Village's existing installations captured approximately 1,600 pounds of total contaminants from stormwater annually. That total also included 1,400 pounds of toxic hydrocarbons.

Babylon Village announced its plans to retrofit 96 outfall pipes with AbTech's stormwater treatment systems in 2008, utilizing a matching grant of $310,000 provided by Suffolk County once a testing period was complete. It is expected that once all 96 installations are complete, collectively more than 8,000 pounds of contaminants, including 7,000 pounds of toxic hydrocarbons will be prevented from entering The Great South Bay annually. 

"When we set our stormwater management plan in motion, we hoped it would serve as an attainable model for our neighbors throughout Suffolk County," said Village of Babylon Mayor Ralph Scordino in a release. "But after seeing these results, we are confident that our model will be employed throughout the country."

The initiative marked one of the first efforts nationwide by a municipality to address stormwater pollution using a green infrastructure solution.

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"Untreated stormwater runoff is the single greatest source of water pollution in the United States, and The Great South Bay has been particularly affected with the intense development of Long Island," said Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., President of the Waterkeeper Alliance in a release.  "Municipalities are at the heart of the fight to preserve water resources for future generations and Babylon has set the bar for cities nationwide in reducing the runoff of fertilizers, pesticides, pathogens, and petroleum products."

AbTech's treatment systems cost Babylon Village between $5,000 and $6,000 per unit to install and are retrofitted into the existing stormwater infrastructure, eliminating the need for costly new construction.  The systems require no electricity and minimal maintenance, and are effective at removing over 85 percent of toxic hydrocarbons from stormwater, in addition to sediments, heavy metals and other harmful pollutants.

Once absorbed, hydrocarbons are permanently bound to the Smart Sponge polymer and cannot be leached away.  Spent Smart Sponge material can be landfilled or burned as a high BTU, low emissions fuel source.

"Babylon's stormwater initiative is a perfect example of the progressive thinking that has made Suffolk County one of the best places to live, work and play in the nation," said Suffolk County Executive Steven Bellone in a release. "Our political leaders are constantly pushing the envelope to get the job done for taxpayers through innovative and cost-efficient ways."

Babylon will begin installation of additional stormwater treatment systems in November.

AbTech Holdings is a developer and manufacturer of patented innovative environmental technologies addressing issues of water pollution and contamination based out of Scottsdale, Arizona.