BATON ROUGE -- Four types of specialized stormwater little-trap systems are being implemented into the Capitol Lake.

This is all part of the second phase of a litter management plan spearheaded by the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens and the Louisiana Stormwater Coalition.

"It actually started from a resolution that the stormwater coalition got passed through the legislature about five years ago, and that resolution stipulated that the DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality) would conduct feasibility studies on litter abatement," LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens Director Jeff Kuehny said.

Phase two of this plan launched on Sept. 19, and the installation of these systems is expected to provide a more efficient solution for litter and flood-causing sediments.

"Phase one was doing a tactical clean-up of the entire lakes. The third tactical cleanup and final just happened about a month ago," Kuehny said.

Kuehny says that the most common forms of litter that they are finding are plastic and styrofoam.

The first device is called the litter boom, which is a floating barrier installed at locations where stormwater flows into the lake.

The second is called the Litter Gitter. The gitter uses the boom to direct water and litter into a floating trash trap.

The third device is a stormwater litter interceptor that fits into storm drains. It is capable of intercepting litter that is more than two inches in diameter, while also allowing vegetation to pass through.

The fourth device is the litter fence, which is installed along roadways designed to prevent litter from blowing into ditches.

"From this project, in the legacy litter tactical cleanup that has been done, there's been over 10,000 pounds of litter collected, but that doesn't include all of the litter that has been collected before this project," Kuehny said.

The Louisiana Stormwater Coalition says it is an all-volunteer organization.

"Every time we'd pick up trash after a huge rain event, the trash would come back, and so we realized there had to be a better solution, and that's when we started digging, and we found out that 41 other states have permanently funded stormwater management programs to help them manage their litter," Louisiana Stormwater Coalition's Renee Verma said.

The lake is a demonstration site for litter abatement and the equipment that can be used to do that.

"We're thrilled that the Louisiana Stormwater Coalition led an effort to declare stormwater utility. We passed legislation so now communities across Louisiana, if they have the political will to do it, they can pass a stormwater fee that's simple, reasonable, and sustainable to help fund these types of programs," Verma said.

The AgCenter says the other three demonstration sites are Bayou Fountain, Monte Sano, and Burden Museum and Gardens.

"Once we get through this phase, we will produce a how-to guide and then our intention is to hold another statewide stormwater summit, share what we've learned, share that guide statewide," Louisiana Stormwater Coalition's Kelly Hurtado said.