November 8, 2021 – The process to attain NJCAT verification and NJDEP certification for the FocalPoint System required laboratory testing to NJDEPs Lab Filter Protocol. Alden Labs was retained by Convergent Water Technologies to carry out this detailed laboratory testing. We are pleased to announce the FocalPoint system is now an NJCAT verified technology, meeting…
October 4, 2021 – The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) has approved the FocalPoint High Performance Modular Biofiltration System (HPMBS) — an innovative stormwater technology that is beneficial to engineers, land planners, landscape architects, installers, developers and end-users implementing green infrastructure and low impact development techniques. Because of its small footprint, open-bed configuration…
One of the great challenges that Green Infrastructure faces is perception vs. reality. When someone drives up to a site and sees porous concrete that is raveling, permeable pavers that are silted in and shedding water or a biofiltration system that is holding water, we automatically want to believe it’s a product failure, when in…
When introducing FocalPoint HPMBS to engineers, landscape architects, public agencies and contractors, we sometimes get asked if the mulch layer is really necessary. Some people want to replace it with various sizes and types of rocks while others contemplate eliminating the top layer altogether. We continue to stress the importance of the mulch as an…
Our friends at EHRA, Megan Crutcher, P.E., CFM and Justin Ring, P.E. talk about the true costs of Low Impact Development. The cost comparison analysis they provide is based on their latest single family residential project. Camillia is a 90 acre subdivision by Legend Homes in Fort Bend County, Texas that implemented 70 FocalPoint High Performance Modular…
I’ve worked for Construction EcoServices for the last two years and one thing I’ve learned is that something will always go wrong during construction. It doesn’t matter how good the design is, challenges will have to be conquered to reach the ultimate goal of a finished project. One of the most common challenges that occur…
The short and long term performance of engineered media specified for use in biofiltration systems is something that must be taken into account when utilizing bioretention as the primary solution for stormwater management and stormwater quality. Many times only the short term infiltration rates of a biofiltration media are considered as instead of what actually takes place…
As both an MS4 community and part of the Milwaukee River Basin, the city of Cudahy, Wisc., is required to remove suspended solids and phosphorus from storm water runoff. Additionally, the city is committed to implementing green infrastructure practices into public works projects, so when the city was tasked with replacing an alley and a…
Land and Water Magazine published an article recently that details the use of the High Performance Modular Biofiltration System (HPMBS) in Harris County, Texas’ first green roadway, Birnamwoods Drive. The HPMBS is an ideal solution for developing LID-based roads and Harris County has now implemented this technology on several roadway projects, with others in design or…
Making the Case for High Flow Biofiltration Systems We all know the history of Low Impact Development (LID). Developed in Prince George’s County, Maryland in the early ’90s, adopted throughout the Chesapeake Bay, gradually adopted in the Northwest and the Great Lakes and now picking up steam and moving coast to coast; it’s an important…