This past winter, the Port of Port Angeles noticed increased zinc levels in stormwater sampling. Many industries use zinc to protect rooftops from rust and degradation — but zinc can have an adverse effect on fish in nearby streams.

To combat this, the Port installed three Grattix Boxes at the Port-owned hangar leased by FedEx at the William R. Fairchild International Airport.

Invented by Mary Mattix and Matt Graves (two talented Port of Vancouver environmental team employees) a Grattix Box is essentially a rain garden in a box. An innovative system that removes zinc pollution in stormwater from galvanized metal roofs and downspouts, the environmental world has hailed it as an innovative, inexpensive and effective solution.

At the Port of Port Angeles, the facility maintenance team constructed the boxes by using plans provided on the Port of Vancouver website. The three installed Grattix Boxes have reduced zinc in roof runoff by 91% according to recent stormwater sampling.