By MANDY BOLEN

Citizen Staff

Key West, FL-It took more than an ordinary kitchen sponge or high-quality chamois to clean up 40 gallons of grease that a restaurant accidentally spilled in the 500 block of Duval Street last week.

The owners of Willie T's cooperated with city officials in cleaning up the spill, and immediately paid about $5,500 in cleaning fees that included the replacement of new sponges that have been installed in many of the city's stormwater drains.

"Forty gallons of grease had splattered all over the sidewalk and into the gutter," said Annalise Mannix, the city's environmental programs manager. "Luckily we had installed inserts in September into the stormwater drain, and the grease was caught in the sponge system."

The new inserts, known by the product name Smart Sponge and made by Arizona-based AbTech Industries, collect impurities from water and save them as a solid material that can be collected and discarded properly.

"Once oil is absorbed, the Smart Sponge transforms the pollutants into a stable solid for easy recycling, providing a closed-loop solution to water pollution," the company's Web site says.

The sponge systems resemble foot-square boxes in the corners of storm drains, Mannix said.

She said the Duval Street grease spill is a common concern for her. All restaurants are required to store their grease in a closed container until the scheduled pick-up time. Restaurants with no rear access often must lug their containers to the front of the business on Duval Street.

"These guys apparently tripped on a step, and the container became unsteady and spilled," Mannix said, commending the business owners on their cooperation.

Crews from Operations Management International (OMI) cleaned the spill, and reported the sponge system captured 4 gallons of pollutants from the 40 gallons of grease.

There are an additional 32 sponges in stormwater drains throughout the city of Key West, with most of them installed close to area beaches. Two brands of sponge were installed, but Mannix said most of those closest to the beaches and water are AbTech sponges because they collect dirt, oil and trash, but also stop enterrococcus and fecal coliform from entering the nearshore water.

"We installed those units on upper Duval and in the 500 block because of the area restaurants," Mannix said. "I had noticed clearly that grease had been washing into the storm drain around there."

A $24,000 grant from The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for coral conservation paid for the sponge system, which now is being tested for its effectiveness.

"We're testing water as it comes into the storm drain and then when it leaves to measure any significant reduction in fecal coliform or enterrococcus, which are responsible for our beach closings," Mannix said.

mbolen@keysnews.com

http://www.keysnews.com  Published on Thursday, March 13, 2008