ABS stormwater technicians completed planting June 5 on the first Osorb bioswale impacting water quality in the Lake Erie watershed. The project is at Arc Tech Academy in Lyndhurst, OH.

Lake Erie is known as the “Comeback Lake” by many, but it is beginning to face a new set of challenges related to nonpoint source pollution. The Osorb bioswale installed at Arc Tech Academy will remove contaminants such as sediment, metals, herbicides and chemical fertilizers from stormwater and prevent it from washing into the Lake.

“It is a relatively small bioswale and overall impact on the watershed would be minimal. However, it is a very important step to demonstrate the effectiveness of green stormwater infrastructure,” said Dr. Hanbae Yang, Environmental Engineer. “With more public acceptance and practices for green infrastructure, the water quality of Lake Erie can be significantly improved.”

The 300 sq. ft. bioswale at Arc Tech Academy will treat approximately 100,000 gallons of runoff water annually. It will also serve as a hands-on educational tool for student scientists at Arc Tech and nearby Brush High School learning about the water cycle and green stormwater treatment.

“ABS will closely work with the science faculty at Arc Tech and Brush High School to develop a complete program and train science students in the proper methods and programs for environmental sampling and long-term performance monitoring of the bioswale,” Yang said. “ABS will also plan an annual visit to update the students on the overall information coming in from the site, current status of the science and occasionally additional testing protocols to answer questions that arise during long-term studies.”

A monitoring port was installed to serve as an access tool, where students will take samples to measure water quality and effectiveness of the bioswale.

(Left) ABS broke ground for the 300 sq. ft. bioswale at Arc Tech academy May 30. (Center) Dr. Hanbae Yang designed the bioswale to divert and capture stormwater from the school’s hard surfaces and lawn area, totaling an estimated 100,000 gallons of stormwater treated annually. (Right) Student volunteers interested in green infrastructure assisted the ABS team in planting native flora in the bioswale June 5. The seedlings will see accelerated growth due to the Osorb® component of the swale.

COO Glenn Johnson accepted a 2013 Manny Award for Product Development May 13 in Cleveland. 

For the past 16 years, Manny Awards have been given to manufacturers throughout Ohio who exemplify manufacturing strength and innovation. This award was given to the ABS team for tremendous strides in the scale-up of Osorb production, which has increased 10,000-fold in 4 years as our client list and applications have also increased.

As ABS has continued to scale up, new machinery and equipment has been installed to facilitate increased production needs. The manufacturing team has repeatedly found the expertise and equipment that is useful in food processing is the nearest equivalent for the needs of the firm. 

In early 2013, ABS installed a new roller grinder mill modified from a design for animal nutrition uses. Named “Chomper,” mechanical Engineer Patricio Ortiz led efforts to modify the system into an Osorb grinder. The grinder, along with a growing battery of Osorb reactors, have pushed production capacity to over 1,000 kg / month.

To read more about our awards and honors, please visit our Awards page.


(Above) ABS's Manny-Award winning production team recently installed a new roller mill grinder to facilitate continued scale-up of Osorb materials.

K.B. Industries recently installed Flexi®-Clean Powered by Osorb® at a Waste Management, Inc. parking location. Flexi-Clean was installed beneath KBI's Flexi®-Pave, a recycled tire aggregate permeable paver. The retrofit of the site's existing stormwater system allowed Waste Management to cost effectively clean stormwater from their truck parking area while eliminating extensive construction and permitting challenges. 

The previous stormwater system at Waste Management's site drained to a legacy, undersized inlet that offered no ability to monitor or treat the groundwater as it collects and discharges. Poor layout and physical challenges made expensive "traditional" solutions, such as drop-in units or underground tank systems, impossible. The combination of Flexi-Pave plus Flexi-Clean Powered by Osorb allows for high-volume conveyance of stormwater coupled with effective point treatment before allowing the water to exit the property into the stormwater drain.

Michele Lersch, Florida Environmental Protection Manager at Waste Management, told KBI, "the installation was quick and efficient and allowed us to minimize downtime and expense. No permits were required as it was a repair, rather than a replacement, of an existing stormwater system. Aesthetically, it looks great and is very unobtrusive." See the Case Study PDF download below for more information about the application or about Flexi®-Pave and Flexi®-Clean solutions.

  

(Left to Right) Waste Management's preexisting stormwater system at the site, installation of KBI Flexi®-Clean Powered by Osorb®, 
and the completed stormwater retrofit with a top layer of KBI Flexi®-Pave

The Greater Akron Innovations Network in Sustainability (GAINS) will host "Biomimicry - Design Inspired by Nature" May 8 at 5:30pm. The event is part of GAINS's "Sustainability Matters..." series held every second Wednesday of the month at Akron's Musica complex.

The ongoing goal of the "Sustainability Matters..." series is to provide local leaders in commerce, culture and community with a networking platform while advancing sustainable values in the marketplace. The subject of Wednesday's event will be biomimicry, the study and imitation of nature and its processes to solve human problems. Speakers will include Dr. Peter Niewiarowski, professor of biology and integrated bioscience at the University of Akron, Akron doctoral students in Biomimicry and Carol Thaler, director of outreach and administration for Great Lakes Biomimicry Network.

According to GAINS, biomimicry is an innovation in sustainability with profound impact for the Akron and Northeast Ohio (NEO) region. According to GLBio, (Great Lakes Biomimicry) The economic impact could represent $300 billion in U.S. GDP and $1 trillion in global GDP (2010 dollars) within 15 years. It also has the potential to create 1.6 million jobs in the United States by 2025, many through development of new biomimetic methods of mitigating the depletion of natural resources."

The event is free to the public. For more information, see the GAINS event page on Facebook.

ABSMaterials has completed a strategic agreement with KB Industries, Inc. to create a unique permeable pavement solution powered by Osorb®.

KBI is known for their Flexi®-Pave permeable paver, a recycled tire pavement that near instantly pulls in runoff water. KBI and ABS have worked together to develop Flexi®-Clean powered by Osorb®. This product can be installed beneath KBI Flexi-Pave to remove contaminants gathered in the stormwater.

The integrated product is being offered as a contaminated runoff solution for airports, industrial facilities, roadways near sensitive wetlands and any locations needing to recharge the water table with a clean source.

The KBI-ABS runoff solution is ADA-compliant and EPA, DoD and ACOE approved.

The full recording of the Ohio Sea Grant and Michigan Sea Grant Clean Marinas webinar from March 12 is now available online. The webinar "provided an overview of stormwater management and requirements in the Great Lakes states and provided a forum for discussion among representatives from both public and private sectors."

CEO Stephen Spoonamore presents on Osorb® for stormwater management at marinas and other water-adjacent sites from 39:00 to 53:00. The recording can also be navigated using the "Table of Contents" window at the right of the recording.

View the webinar online: http://goo.gl/DqmmK

New guidelines set by the Environmental Protection Agency will require airports to treat the deicers and other chemicals in water runoff from runways in order to comply with the Clean Water Act. 

As the Federal Aviation Administration requires the application of deicers to planes and runways for safety reasons, many airports are struggling to implement discharge controls that will limit environmental impact under the new rules.
ABSMaterials is now working with several of these airports to design Osorb® stormwater controls. Osorb has been demonstrated to remove not only deicers from runoff, but also fuels, other petroleum products, synthetics, industrial solvents and a wide range of organics. 

By integrating BioMix-Osorb® into stormwater systems for aviation clients, they are able to meet the new effluent guidelines and stay in compliance with both the EPA and FAA.

Paul Bulcke, CEO of Nestlé, warned about the potentially devastating effects of increasing water scarcity in his keynote address at London's annual City Food lecture Feb. 26.

With an increasing global population and current use and management practices of both blue and "gray" water, Bulcke echoed the sentiments of many environmental experts and organizations warning that water will run short of our current agricultural, industrial, and commercial demand within the next few decades. This would cause not only a reduction in drinking water, but also create global crises related to food shortages. He predicts a 30% shortfall in production by 2030.

"At the current rate of the overuse of fresh water, we will severely slow the current development of the world," he told the crowd, emphasizing the need to treat our gray water for reuse.

Mr. Bulcke expressed the need for new policies and best practices—including an emphasis on reuse and conservation—as well the need for people to work together on a global scale to "significantly improve the way we value, use and manage this resource."

The full video of the City Food lecture is available online. (Click Paul Bulke's name below the video in order to skip to his address, which is roughly 30 minutes.)

Image of Paul Bulcke from World Economic Forum.

Marinas are an important part of our Great Lakes: Ohio’s many boating sites provide vital recreation and economic opportunities, but they are also a key impacter on Great Lakes water quality. The Ohio Sea Grant’s Ohio Clean Marinas Program influences positive water quality impacts by promoting “simple, innovative solutions” that protect water and the region’s livelihood. 

CEO Stephen Spoonamore will be a featured speaker on a March 12 webinar discussing such innovations in water quality titled, “Clean Marina Webinar: Stormwater Management at Great Lakes Marinas.”

The webinar is presented by the Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin Clean Marinas Programs, with additional funding through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. It will include an overview of best practices, regulations and resources surrounding stormwater management.

Because the webinar will not only provide resources for marina water quality but also discuss new innovations that broadly impact stormwater best practices, ABS believes this webinar could be a valuable educational tool for anyone involved in surface water quality.

Spoonamore will present the section, “Great Lakes Marina Treatment Options for Stormwater.” Other speakers include Sarah Orlando, Ohio Clean Marinas Program Coordinator, and David Liebl, University of Wisconsin Statewide Stormwater Specialist. A live chat Q & A discussion will follow the presentations.

The webinar is slated for March 12 at 12pm. To register for the free event by March 11, visit the Ohio Sea Grant's registration page.

The ABSMaterials, Inc. Annual Shareholder Meeting will be held April 16, 2013 at the ABS headquarters facility, 1909 Old Mansfield Road, Wooster, Ohio 44691.

Fifteen minute tours of the newly renovated facility will be offered at 12:00, 12:15, and 2:30. The formal presentation from the Board of Directors and the annual meeting will take place 12:30 to 2:30 EST.

For information about location, travel, and where to stay, please visit our locations page. Please RSVP if you are planning to attend the meeting to Jenna Blankenship, j.blankenship@absmaterials.com.