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NC State Tests Dune Filtration System On Coast

Researchers from NC State have developed a new stormwater filtration system designed to trap pollutants and bacteria that can often cause beach closures. The new system consists of a series of chambers that divert stormwater runoff into sand dunes, which act like giant filters. The filtering materials are buried beneath the dunes so that there are no visible materials on the surface.  Researchers say that it allows beach sand to filter out bacteria that can be harmful to swimmers, and they are testing the filters along Kure Beach

NC State biological and agricultural engineering professor Mike Burchell says national research shows the waters are already very clean. “This is really a pre-emptive move by the town and the NC DOT to protect people from the types of exposure to things that can be found in storm water when it's discharged to the ocean,” he says.

The below-ground filters take in as much as 97 percent of the runoff.  Burchell says additional testing is planned for more developed coastal areas.

Gurnal Scott joined North Carolina Public Radio in March 2012 after several stops in radio and television. After graduating from the College of Charleston in his South Carolina hometown, he began his career in radio there. He started as a sports reporter at News/Talk Radio WTMA and won five Sportscaster of the Year awards. In 1997, Gurnal moved on to television as general assignment reporter and weekend anchor for WCSC-TV in Charleston. He anchored the market's top-rated weekend newscasts until leaving Charleston for Memphis, TN in 2002. Gurnal worked at WPTY-TV for two years before returning to his roots in radio. He joined the staff of Memphis' NewsRadio 600 WREC in 2004 eventually rising to News Director. In 2006, Raleigh news radio station WPTF came calling and he became the station's chief correspondent. Gurnal’s reporting has been honored by the South Carolina Broadcasters Association, the North Carolina Associated Press, and the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas.
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