Stormwater Management at a Barge Manufacturing Facility

Managing stormwater at an active barge manufacturing facility and remediated brownfield, located along the bank of the Willamette River in downtown Portland, required a design that met both NPDES Permit requirements and remedial source control goals. These objectives were met through a combination of Low Impact Development (LID) techniques and advanced treatment technologies.

MFA designed a large infiltration facility to manage stormwater from a large portion of the operational area, significantly decreasing the volume of stormwater discharged to the river and reducing the potential for recontamination of a recently-completed remedial sediment cap. The reduced frequency of stormwater discharges has decreased the cost of stormwater monitoring and reporting, while allowing for continued barge building operations.

MFA also designed three filtration systems to treat stormwater from the rest of the facility, consistent with industrial stormwater permit requirements. Passive, reactive filtration is used to treat runoff from a large barge manufacturing building roof as well as an outdoor manufacturing area. Portable filtration units were designed to treat runoff from the outdoor barge assembly area to facilitate periodic relocation of the filters during barge launches.

MFA also provides on-call compliance services for this facility, including stormwater sampling and reporting.