Water Environment Research Foundation Honors Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District with Award for Excellence in Innovation
Alexandria, VA (PRWEB) October 01, 2014 -- On Tuesday September 30, The Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) honored Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District (Regional San) with its Award for Excellence in Innovation for its use of WERF research as the utility evaluated new technologies in establishing its advanced wastewater treatment pilot plant. The award was presented at WEFTEC in New Orleans, Louisiana during the celebration of WERF’s 25th anniversary.
The WERF Award for Excellence in Innovation recognizes organizations that have made improvements to wastewater and stormwater collection, storage or treatment operations, facilities, or processes by applying WERF research.
Newly-mandated wastewater treatment standards meant that Regional San would have to begin planning and implementing new treatment processes beginning in 2013, with significant changes completed by 2021. Regional San worked with Brown and Caldwell to build an advanced wastewater treatment pilot (ATTP) plant to evaluate new technologies. With only 11 months to commission the facility, Regional San opted for a design, build, own, and operate approach. This allowed the contractor to be involved early in the design process – speeding up construction and controlling costs.
The ATTP facility tested a variety of treatment technologies, ruling out those with higher life-cycle costs and pinpointing effective solutions that would improve Regional San’s effluent. The pilot also helped ensure the right sizing of facilities, offering the best value for Regional San’s ratepayers and reserving space for future processes if new regulations emerge. The pilot project allowed Regional San to save an estimated $150 million in permit-required upgrades – a savings that will be passed on to ratepayers.
A team of WERF volunteers, who themselves are some of the most recognized individuals in the water quality industry, selected the recipients from a field of many well-qualified organizations. Additional information on this award can be found at http://www.werf.org.
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The Water Environment Research Foundation, a nonprofit organization formed in 1989, is America's leading independent scientific research organization dedicated to wastewater and stormwater issues.
Carrie Capuco, Water Environment Research Foundation, http://www.werf.org, +1 (571) 384-2097, [email protected]
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