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Irving highlights employee 'innovation grants' pilot using antimicrobial 'smart sponge' for creek pollution
Summary
City staff showed a pilot funded through Irving's Innovation Grants program that uses a proprietary 'smart sponge' to reduce bacteria and clean oils in Dry Branch Creek; staff said the program funds employee ideas up to $25,000 and the city has funded about $300,000 to date.
City staff showed Council a short presentation on the Irving Innovation Grants program and an employee-led pilot project that uses a proprietary "smart sponge" to remove oil and reduce bacterial counts in Dry Branch Creek.
Cody Cash, who works with the municipal drainage team, described the device as "little pillows" coated with proprietary materials; one coating being tested is antimicrobial. The pilot will place the sponges in a cage in-stream and collect water samples upstream and downstream to measure bacterial reduction, Cash said. Funding for the pilot came from the city's Innovation Grants program, which allows city employees to pitch ideas for grants of up to $25,000.
City budget staff said the program has funded two to four employee ideas per year and that Irving has disbursed "over $300,000 to date" to support employee innovations. Council thanked staff for the presentation and innovation-office staff were credited in remarks.
Ending: Council had no substantive questions beyond praise for the program; staff said the pilot is ongoing and results will be monitored through upstream/downstream bacterial sampling.
