Earlier this year, students from Oregon State University (OSU) visited with the port’s Environmental Team to learn about stormwater management and the Grattix. The students, who are studying ecological engineering, toured port facilities and got a firsthand account of how our employees invented the Grattix to help treat stormwater runoff from roofs around our marine terminals. Armed with this knowledge, the students were tasked with inventing their own stormwater and wastewater management devices. After months of student research and planning, port employees Mary Mattix and Matt Graves traveled to the OSU campus in Corvallis, Oregon, to evaluate and score the students’ designs.

Students at Oregon State University visit with port staff to learn about the Grattix

The class was divided into eight groups. Each group designed their water treatment plan to treat for one of four pollutant streams: rainwater runoff, domestic graywater, nursery runoff or landfill leachate. The students were presented with a variety of challenges they had to overcome in their design, including the ability to operate under highly variable climatic conditions and causing minimal disruption to existing activities. Their projects were also required to meet safety and environmental regulatory requirements, consider climate factors and be fiscally responsible for mass production. Each team had a $500 allowance and less than three months to design their project and prepare their presentations.

They presented in November to a group of seven panelists that included Mary and Matt, as well as staff from OSU, the City of Portland and other distinguished environmental and engineering professionals.

“The designs the students were able to come up with were amazing,” said Environmental Program Manager Mary Mattix. “They developed practical, functional and innovative designs that could be successfully used for water treatment today. We were very impressed.”

Now that their presentations are complete, the students will finish building and testing their designs.  Mary and Matt will travel back to OSU at the end of the winter semester to hear test results and evaluate the final products.