By George Moffatt • Jersey Shore Group
Stan Greberis, an Executive Committee member of the NJ Chapter of the Sierra Club, was honored recently by Gov. Phil Murphy and Sean LaTourette, commissioner of the DEP, for inventing a device that removes chlorine from swimming pool wastewater. The device may help avoid much of the illegal backwash dumping that goes on under cover of darkness.
In December, Greberis was presented with the Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award for his invention.
How It Works
Now that we’re approaching summer, more than 374,000 residential swimming pools in New Jersey will be prepared for action. So begins the annual contest between physics, biology, and chemistry.
Once pools are cleared of winter’s debris, many will require additional fresh water to achieve the correct volume. Pool owners will also add chlorine to kill bacteria, viruses, and other harmful microorganisms. Then, the problems start.
First, physics and chemistry come into play as the sun’s radiation starts evaporating the pool water and neutralizing the chlorine. As the chlorine declines, biology happens, as algae bloom with abandon, and drowned bugs and bird droppings proliferate. So, pool owners add more chlorine.
Backwashing, or occasionally expelling water, helps to clear debris from the filter and remove dirty water from the pool. Some pool owners simply pump the chlorinated backwash water down the driveway or into a stormwater drain, often at night, when no one will notice. However, most municipalities ban such nocturnal dumping, and one risks having to appear before a municipal judge.
So, how can pools be maintained without violating local regulations?
Greberis, ever the environmentalist, invented a simple solution that would use a pool pump’s high-pressure discharge in an environmentally beneficial way. He developed what he calls the Eco Pool Drain Fountain. (Many folks just call it the “Eco.”)
It sprays the water high and wide enough into the air to allow some of the chlorine to dissipate from each droplet’s surface area. This process, called “gas out,” removes some—but not all—of the chlorine, Greberis said.
Greberis’ specially designed, wide-area sprayer also:
• Evenly distributes chlorine-
reduced water over lawns;
• Avoids using municipal water to irrigate lawns and gardens;
• Eliminates soil erosion caused by ground-level high-pressure outflows;
• Allows the grandchildren to marvel at the spray; and,
• Avoids court costs.
The NJ Chapter of the Sierra Club congratulates Greberis on his achievement!
Greberis says his Eco Pool Drain Fountain is made in the United States and can be bought at many online stores.
You can learn more about Greberis’ award and invention by visiting these sites:
https://www.nj.gov/dep/newsrel/2023/23_0065.htm