Ocean Protect Systems: OceanGuard, StormFilter & More in NSW

Who is Ocean Protect?

Ocean Protect is one of the most commonly specified suppliers of proprietary stormwater treatment devices on NSW projects, with a range spanning at-source pit baskets through to end-of-line filtration vaults. As an independent design consultancy, Contrive Consultants has no commercial relationship with any device supplier — but builders and developers ask us about Ocean Protect products often enough that a plain-English overview is worthwhile. Everything below reflects the manufacturer’s published information; performance on your site must always be confirmed by modelling and council policy.

OceanGuard: at-source pit baskets

The OceanGuard is a gully pit basket installed inside new or existing stormwater pits, capturing pollutants directly under the grate before they enter the pipe network. Published features include:

• A choice of filtration bag liners targeting gross pollutants, total suspended solids and pollutants attached to sediment
• Suitability for both retrofit and new construction, sized to common Australian pit dimensions
• Use either stand-alone (where targets allow) or as pre-treatment upstream of finer devices

In a treatment train, the OceanGuard plays the same primary-treatment role as other pit inserts such as the SPEL Stormsack: it deals with litter and coarse sediment and protects downstream devices, but it does not remove dissolved nutrients on its own.

StormFilter: cartridge media filtration

The StormFilter is Ocean Protect’s cartridge filtration system and the device most often proposed where a rain garden will not fit. Stormwater passes through rechargeable, media-filled cartridges housed in a pit, vault or tank. Published characteristics include:

• Siphon-actuated cartridges that draw water evenly through the media for consistent treatment, with a self-cleaning action as the siphon breaks between storms
• Media options that capture solids, hydrocarbons, nutrients and heavy metals
• Scalable configurations — from a single cartridge in a small pit on a duplex site to multi-cartridge vaults on commercial projects

Because each cartridge treats a finite flow, the design task is matching cartridge count, vault hydraulics and bypass arrangement to the MUSIC model that demonstrates compliance.

Jellyfish Filter: membrane filtration for fine particles

The Jellyfish Filter takes a different approach: each cartridge carries a cluster of membrane “tentacles” providing a very large filtration surface in a compact chamber. The device combines gravity separation, flow rotation and up-flow membrane filtration, and the manufacturer cites capture of fine, silt-sized particles down to around 2 microns along with floatables, oils and particulate-bound nutrients and metals. It is typically considered for sites with fine sediment loads or tight head conditions where its hydraulic profile suits.

End-of-line and treatment train combinations

Ocean Protect also supplies Filterra, a high-rate engineered bioretention system in a compact planter format. A common configuration on constrained NSW sites is OceanGuard baskets in the collection pits (primary treatment) feeding a StormFilter or Jellyfish vault near the site discharge point (tertiary treatment) — an arrangement that can meet typical council targets entirely underground. Whether that is the right arrangement for your site depends on catchment, levels, maintenance access and, critically, council policy.

Verification and council acceptance

Ocean Protect has publicised SQIDEP verification (Stormwater Australia’s field-testing protocol) for OceanGuard, StormFilter and Jellyfish — relevant because a growing number of NSW councils require SQIDEP verification before they will accept proprietary device performance claims in a MUSIC model. That said, acceptance policies vary by council: some accept verified devices freely, some prescribe their own modelling parameters, and some still prefer vegetated systems wherever feasible. Confirming the consent authority’s position before locking in the stormwater strategy remains the single most important step.

Design and maintenance considerations

• Model the actual proposed configuration in MUSIC — cartridge counts and basket selections should match the verified performance basis
• Allow hydraulic head for filtration devices and a clear overflow path for storms above the treatment flow
• Plan maintenance access for a vacuum truck and budget for periodic media or liner replacement
• Expect consent conditions requiring a maintenance schedule and often a positive covenant on title

Contrive Consultants designs WSUD systems and prepares MUSIC and DRAINS models accepted by NSW councils — independently comparing Ocean Protect, SPEL and vegetated options for your site. See our services, call +61 497 848 111, email info@contriveconsultants.com.au or contact us today.