Extracting value beyond meeting regulatory requirements: assessment of green house gas emissions for environmental and economical sustainability of water resource recovery plants

Goleta Sanitary District (GSD) a small sized utility located in California has collaborated with Hazen on the development of the Biosolids and Energy Strategic Plan to identify opportunities for codigestion, beneficial use of digester gas and biosolids, and reduced energy consumption and GHG emissions within the WRRP and the Water Reclamation Plant (WRP). Results showed that it would be possible to generate additional revenue from various sources in the future from plant improvements that are necessary to meet regulatory requirements. GSD is an excellent example of a public utility that looks for opportunities to leverage and communicate environmental and economic value from plant improvements needed to meet future regulations.