Active Treatment and Wheel Wash Water Treatment

In late 2008 construction began on the 3-year Seattle Light Rail University of Washington link connecting the university with downtown Seattle. Because this site drains to Lake Washington and the Montlake Cut the City of Seattle has put extra emphasis on protecting surface water from contaminated stormwater runoff. In fact, the city routinely samples stormwater discharges from the site and will not allow any degradation of lake water quality.

Consistent, high-quality stormwater runoff would not be possible on this project without the use of a 500 gallon per minute stormwater treatment system and a tire wash system to clean truck tires before trucks enter public roads. The treatment system uses the Dungeness ChitoVan™ brand chitosan acetate and the tire wash uses the Dungeness Clear Trax System.

Each time a truck enters the tire wash a small amount of Clear Trax 450 is dropped into the pump which causes the dry polymer blend to mix with the turbid water. The sediment from the truck tires is then removed so rapidly that the water always stays clean.

Without Clear Trax 450 the tire wash water would simply becomes progressively dirtier causing sediment drag-out onto streets and into storm drains.

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