Improved Urban Water System (Case Study)

Located in Bexar County, TX, San Antonio Water Systems (SAWS) partnered with Ameresco under a Power Purchase Agreement to create a biogas project that was the first sustainable project of its kind in the nation.

Customer Benefits

The improvements made to SAWS complete a “recycling trifecta,” where they recycle or reuse almost all of the waste coming into Dos Rios. Over the 20 year term, the project will provide significant improvement to the environment around the SAWS Wastewater Treatment Plant through the major reduction of flared emissions at the site.

• Process over 1.5 million standard cubic feet of natural gas per day
• Utilize biogas as a green energy source
• Annual reduction of 19,739 tons of CO2 equivalent of heating 4,689+ homes
• 80% of biosolids remaining generate compost used to improve soil quality

Services Provided

Ameresco restructured SAWS to utilize all of the elements from the processing of waste-water and support a positive environmental outcome. The new system takes biogas generated during the sewage treatment process, captures it and then sells it through a commercial gas pipeline.

• Provide wholesale water supplies to several smaller utility systems
• 115 million gallons of high quality recycled water used daily by community
• Estimated annual royalty of $200,000 received on sale of gas
• Plant capacity 4.8 MW

Read the full case study in the document below

Source: Amaresco

Media

Taxonomy

• Treatment
• Water Reuse & Recycling
• Technology
• Reuse
• Sustainability
• Sustainable Sanitation
• Biogas
• Solar, Wind, Biogas, hydropower
• Sustainibility
• Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)