A Budget Neutral Approach to Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrades

Tightened budgets, aging infrastructure, rising energy and operational costs, and tighter regulatory requirements — are just some of the challenges faced by municipal water and wastewater treatment plants today. With Energy Savings Performance Contracting (ESPC), municipalities can fund and implement turnkey water and wastewater treatment plant upgrades using the money they would have normally spent on utility and maintenance bills before implementing the upgrades.

Benefits of ESPC

• No to low upfront capital required

• Guaranteed energy savings

• Reduced operational and maintenance costs

• Turnkey project delivery

• Single-source accountability

• Long-term support

• Zero taxpayer impact

Popular ESPC Upgrades

• Aeration system (proper sizing, efficient operations, dedicated blowers, diffuser replacement, improved controls, system conversion)

• Pumping system (pumps, motors, variable frequency drives, pipe coatings)

• Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) controls (monitoring, system automation)

• Energy production systems (anaerobic digestion, combined heat and power, hydropower, landfill gas)

• Biosolids management

• Facility modernization, including lighting upgrades, HVAC upgrades, energy management controls, and other improvements

Benefits of Upgrades

Reduced energy costs

Municipalities can achieve significant cost savings by increasing the efficiency of their water or wastewater treatment plant pumps and aeration equipment. In fact, a 10 percent reduction in the energy use of U.S. drinking water and wastewater systems would collectively save approximately $400 million and 5 billion kWh annually.

Nationally, water and wastewater energy costs are often 30-40% of a municipality’s total energy bill. A comprehensive plant retrofit can deliver energy savings of 50% or more.

Reduced GHG emissions

Fossil fuel combustion for electricity generation accounts for approximately 25 percent of the nation’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. 

Improving energy efficiency in water and wastewater facilities can help reduce GHG emissions and criteria air pollutants by decreasing the consumption of fossil fuel-based energy.

Improved energy and water security 

Replacing old or inefficient equipment will reduce electricity demand and the risk of brownouts or blackouts during high energy demand periods. It will also reduce the risk of water shortages, helping to ensure a reliable and continuous water supply.

Extend the life of your equipment

Energy-efficient equipment will require less maintenance and provide a longer service life than less efficient technology. Replacing old equipment with new, energy-efficient equipment can also extend the life of your infrastructure because it will demand less from it.

Improved compliance

Equipment failure and design flaws can lead to compliance violations. Through ESPC, water and wastewater treatment plants can upgrade underperforming equipment using future energy and operational savings.

Improved public health

Equipment upgrades allow facilities to increase capacity for treating water and wastewater, improve the performance of their treatment processes, and reduce the energy needed from polluting power plants.