Downstream Defender® captures LID overflow pollution, providing environmental protection for a Florida aquatic preserve.

Situation

The Sarasota Board of County Commissioners had been planning stormwater improvements for the Dearborn Street neighborhood of Englewood, Florida. The West Dearborn neighborhood had struggled economically, which some attributed to the lack of centralized stormwater infrastructure serving the area and the need for individual businesses to design, install and pay for their own stormwater infrastructure.

Problem

The stormwater infrastructure upgrade needed to protect the local Lemon Bay Aquatic Preserve by eliminating the discharge of untreated stormwater from the entire Dearborn Street district, and to build a sustainable stormwater management infrastructure that would prevent local businesses from having to bear the expense of implementing their own stormwater treatment systems.

Solution

As part of a low-impact development (LID) project, engineers selected Downstream Defender® to capture pollution carried in excess flows that bypass swales, protecting the Lemon Bay Aquatic Preserve.

Outcome

Downstream Defender® meets the low hydraulic drop limitations of the site, and provides stormwater treatment for an area that had previously received no treatment.