The Philadelphia Water Department has its share of old water pipes to contend with – in fact, they have increased investment in water pipes by 25 percent in their latest capital improvement program. However the Department’s Strategic Energy Plan also looks to better manage future expenses – it includes a facility that will extract energy from material typically thought of as waste. The new biogas cogeneration facility captures methane gas from the existing sewage treatment process at the Northeast Water Pollution Control Plant, providing about 85 percent of the electrical requirements for plant operations. Their ultimate goal for all of the wastewater treatment plants in the City is to be net zero energy consumption. Philadelphia has also made strides in biosolids recycling–essentially taking the remaining materials post cleaning and turning it into environmentally beneficial products used for strip mine reclamation, agriculture, and community gardening.
Learn more at www.phillywatersheds.org
