Getting to Zero: Sustainability Best practices to Significantly Reduce Greenhouse Gas and Energy at Your Wastewater Facility

Public agencies are increasingly pressured to become more sustainable. Wastewater plants are significant consumers of energy and correspondingly produce significant quantities of greenhouse gas (GHG). Reductions in energy and GHG are challenges for wastewater facilities as flows and loads increase and discharge requirements become more restrictive. The results highlight some methods to reduce energy and GHG, including the concept of becoming energy neutral. Energy (as represented by electrical energy or fuels) equate directly to GHG production. A significant portion of the fuel source for most utilities in the United States is from anthropogenic sources such as coal, oil, or electric. To achieve energy neutral facilities, the wastewater plant must implement energy conservation and shift to biogenically derived energy sources, such as biogas, or alternative energy sources, such as wind. This paper and presentation describe how wastewater treatment plants can significantly reduce energy to the point of becoming energy neutral.