Oldcastle Infrastructure's BioPod biofilter system approved by Portland, Oregon

Oldcastle Infrastructure, part of the Building Products division of CRH, has announced that its BioPod Biofilter System with StormMix Media has been reviewed and approved by the City of Portland, Oregon, Bureau of Environmental Services. As such, the BioPod is now included on the city's list of approved manufactured stormwater treatment technologies (MSTTs). The City of Portland joins a group of jurisdictions, including the states of Washington, New Jersey, and Virginia, that have granted regulatory approval to the BioPod. Engineers now have the opportunity to design any of BioPod's four configurations into stormwater management systems for projects within the city's jurisdiction. "Now that the BioPod has received approval, designers in Portland will have a state-of-the-art, engineered, high-flow-rate bioretention option for stormwater treatment and green infrastructure solutions," says Joanna Ogintz, Oldcastle Infrastructure's regulatory engineer.

BioPod systems use a biofiltration design for filtration, sorption, and biological uptake to remove total suspended solids (TSS), metals, nutrients, gross solids, trash and debris as well as petroleum hydrocarbons from stormwater runoff. With its StormMix media, BioPod has a high flowrate, enabling a smaller footprint, with or without vegetation. 

Offering flexibility of design and construction for a storm drain system, the BioPod system comes as an all-in-one, single-piece unit composed of precast concrete for ease of installation and a long service life. The BioPod system offers an optional integrated high-flow bypass that eliminates the need for a separate bypass structure, reducing costs and simplifying the design. 

For more information on BioPod, visit https://oldcastleinfrastructure.com/biopod. For Portland's official approval letter, visit https://www.portlandoregon.gov/bes/article/713477.

Oldcastle Infrastructure provides building materials, products and services for infrastructure projects to several market sectors nationwide, including building structures, communications, energy, transportation and water. The company is part of CRH's Building Products division. CRH is a global diversified building materials group, employing 85,000 people at 3,600 operating locations in 32 countries.