Palo Alto Makes Sludge Sexy Onboarding $30 Million Sewer System

PALO ALTO, CA — The San Francisco Peninsula city opened its $30 million sewage sludge processing facility, replacing an incinerator operating since 1972.

As part of Palo Alto's regional water quality control plant, the project funded by California Water Board loans is designed to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, eliminate a hazardous waste stream and reduce energy costs.

“As California adapts to our changing climate, we need more green projects like the city of Palo Alto’s that provide multiple benefits like reducing greenhouse gas emissions and energy use while making available a useful biosolids soil product,“ State Water Resources Control Board member Sean Maguire said.

The project was funded through the state's Clean Water State Revolving Fund. The city received approximately $26 million in low-interest loan funds and $4 million in principal forgiveness funds because the project met the Green Project Reserve requirements of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The loan will be repaid by the plant's partnering agencies over a 30 year period.

The project will allow the city to shut down the antiquated and energy-intensive incinerator, providing a significant reduction in energy use and eliminating 700 tons per year of incinerator ash, which represents a hazardous waste.

The new sludge dewatering process is estimated to reduce climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions by about 15,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. This is the equivalent to removing 3,000 passenger cars from the road. The dewatered sludge is ultimately converted for use as an agricultural soil supplement.

The project, which began construction in March 2017, includes a 10,000-square-foot building to accommodate all equipment and controls necessary to dewater and process the sludge, a truck loading facility, miscellaneous support areas, and an odor control system.

More information on the project may be obtained by visiting the City of Palo Alto webpage.