PHOENIX — Recently, 12News showed you how you can do your part to prevent stormwater pollution. Right now, the City of Phoenix is rolling out brand-new technology that will help keep trash out of our rivers, streams, and lakes.
Over the summer of 2024, the City of Phoenix launched a pilot program that tested grates throughout downtown. So far, roughly 50 grates have been installed, with the main goal of pollution prevention.
"Some people might think it clogs up the storm drain, but the grates actually open up just enough to let water bypass the garbage and hold onto the garbage there, so it prevents it from coming into our storm drains." Senior Water Quality Inspector, James Mendez, explains how the grate technology works. "The water comes into the gutter...and whatever it's carrying...let's say it's a water bottle for instance, it gets caught here...and you think eventually there's going to be a lot of debris that gets caught here...but you still want the water to go through...so what happens is once you get enough pressure on it, the gate actually opens up, just enough for water to slide underneath there but yet keep the debris outside."
These grates are mechanical devices; technology that does not require electronics. The grates are spring-loaded, so they self-close.
It's a team effort. The newly installed grates and street sweepers are already keeping trash out of the storm drains.
If the pilot program is successful, the City of Phoenix plans on installing several more grates.
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