Harrison Industries, one of the oldest and largest privately-owned refuse businesses in the U.S., has installed an innovative new commercial water treatment system for stormwater, at the company’s Gold Coast Recycling and Transfer Station in Ventura. Taking over four years and more than $1.5 million to develop, the specialized treatment system represents an industry innovation that combines proven technology with strict storm water quality runoff regulations.
Designed in compliance with the Federal Clean Water Act (CWA), which makes it unlawful to discharge pollutants into navigable waters without a permit, the system collects storm water runoff at Harrison’s 7.8 acre Gold Coast Recycling and Transfer Station on Colt Street where trash hauling trucks empty their loads before they are compacted into transfer trucks and taken to the Toland Landfill.
Thousands of tons of materials are brought to Gold Coast Recycling and Transfer Station each year from Harrison franchise clients – the cities of Ventura, Thousand Oaks, Camarillo, Ojai, Fillmore and Carpinteria, as well as unincorporated areas of Ventura County, Naval Base Ventura County and the Channel Islands Beach Community Services District. In addition, it is a full-service facility for self-haulers that also serves as a buy-back center for recyclable materials (aluminum, glass, plastic bottles, paper products, etc.) as well as a free drop-off center for electronic waste (old computers, televisions, copy machines, etc.) and anti-freeze, batteries, oil and paint (ABOP).
Using a customized collection, filtration and disinfectant system, rainwater that has come into contact with industrial activities at the Colt Street site is diverted into a series of filters and 6,000 gallon tanks where it is cleaned and disinfected. The fully automatic system, equipped with measuring devices, process alarms and remote access, removes pollutants before the treated water enters local storm drains and ultimately flows to the Santa Clara River.
Harrison Industries obtained numerous permits to build the storm water treatment system and will work closely with city of Ventura inspectors to have it monitored before and after any rain event. The system, which takes up three quarters of an acre of the Gold Coast property, kicks in day or night when rainfall begins.
Harrison’s immediate goal is to maintain compliance with the current and upcoming regulations. In the future, the company plans to investigate ways to reuse the treated water at their facilities or make it available to other water users.
