PRODUCTS & SERVICES
PRODUCTS & SERVICES Boats skim debris from Chicago River The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) recently purchased two Elastec aluminium trash boats to skim debris from the Chicago River. Elastec vessels are designed to be manoeuvrable in hard to reach areas and have an inverted bow to usher floating refuse into a 98ft 3 (2.77m 3 ) trash basket. They can be used for a wide variety of marine maintenance duties and have a spacious 8ft x 11ft (2.4m x 3.35m) work platform. The MWRD serves an 883 square mile (2,286km²) area, including the city of Chicago, and controls over 76 miles (122.3km) of the Chicago Areas Waterways (CAW), which are part of the inland waterway system connecting the Great Lakes with the Gulf of Mexico. The MWRD receives flow from combined sewer collection systems, which means that wastewater and stormwater flow together in a single pipe. During heavy rain, stormwater run-off can cause the sewer system to reach maximum capacity and overflow into the waterways. This is called a Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO). Some of the excess water is stored in the MWRD’s Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP) system but too much run- off finds its way to the CAW - and so does the litter. Floating debris such as Styrofoam, plastic bottles and cigarette butts create health risks, kill marine life and cause flooding. To help keep the Chicago River clean and beautiful, Elastec and MWRD worked together to develop two customised debris collection boats. MWRD requested a simple design that was easy to operate with few moving parts. The 23ft (7m) boats, named Skimmy Dipper and Skim Pickens, are designed for daily trash skimming near Navy Pier and along seven miles of the river. Elastec sales manager, Shon Mosier, said: “The Elastec trash boat is a unique way to combat debris from stormwater run-off. Trash flows downstream and into our waterways. We must begin to manage marine litter.” Mosier has also delivered similar vessels to the cities of Waco and Austin for Texas Watershed Protection departments. Contact Elastec in IL, USA on email: elastec@elastec.com 52 www.marinaworld.com - November/December 2015
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