The Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans (SWBNO) has partnered with Veolia North America to reimagine how New Orleans collects, treats and manages its wastewater. The byproducts of wastewater treatment will be turned into environmental assets and thus improve the quality of life for its inhabitants.
The new partnership, according to a recent press release by Veolia, will save the city almost $2 million a year, reduce energy and chemical consumption, reduce carbon emissions and install new technology for better environmental performance.
The five-year agreement, which was finalized this month, will allow the city to reimagine what wastewater treatment can do for the future of the metropolis.
“As part of our utility’s commitment to infrastructure reliability and resiliency, as well as technology modernization, this investment will make our East Bank and West Bank wastewater treatment plants far more efficient and effective,” said Ghassan Korban, Executive Director of Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans.
Karine Rougé, CEO of Veolia North America’s Municipal Water division, added, "Veolia has been proud to support New Orleans’ dedicated efforts to modernize its wastewater treatment infrastructure since 1992, and our partnership is now focused on implementing a new generation of physical and process improvements that reimagine this vital city service. We are glad to partner with SWBNO to envision a forward-thinking plan that is a major step toward delivering newer infrastructure and better public service.”
As part of the contract, Veolia will install digital monitoring and analysis tools to optimize the performance of New Orleans’ wastewater treatment system, allowing it to perform better, use less energy, generate less waste, emit fewer greenhouse gases, and reduce the potential generation of unpleasant odours:
- New digital monitoring systems will make it easier for plant operators to manage changing conditions and optimize the treatment process, providing real-time monitoring of wastewater treatment for the first time.
- A new system for receiving, storing and treating sludge at the East Bank facility will improve efficiency, provide more odour control and help generate additional revenue in the future.
- New pumps, bar screens and other equipment will help both East Bank and West Bank plants improve operations, while new bleach storage capacity at the West Bank facility will upgrade its disinfection capability.
- Veolia will also install a new system to dissolve oxygen into the aerobic digestion process of wastewater treatment, eliminating the need for three truckloads a week of costly liquid oxygen supplies delivered to the plant. The new system will save almost $2 million a year, reduce chemical costs and power use by at least an estimated 10%, and eliminate an estimated 12 metric tons per month of carbon emissions.
