Partnership Recycles 10 Billion Gallons Of ECUA Reclaimed Water

June 22, 2015

Gulf Power’s Plant Crist in Pensacola recently passed the 10-billion-gallon milestone for the use of reclaimed water from the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority’s Central Water Reclamation Facility in Cantonment.

The electric-generating plant uses the advanced-treated wastewater as a coolant during electricity production and to run the scrubber system that reduces air emissions. And, by using the reclaimed water from the nearby facility, Gulf Power avoids taking millions of gallons of water out of the Escambia River and conserves groundwater.

“This shows how two different utilities can work together to benefit all their customers and the environment,” said Natalie Smith, Gulf Power spokesperson. “With our scrubber system, we are providing cleaner electricity for our customers in Northwest Florida, and this partnership benefits Northwest Florida with cleaner air — and cleaner water.”

Gulf Power proposed the project to ECUA soon after starting construction on the scrubber system, which went online in December 2009.

The advanced ECUA facility was built to replace the Main Street Wastewater Treatment Plant, which was located in downtown Pensacola, across the street from the then-planned Community Maritime Park. State regulations would only permit the new wastewater treatment facility if it would not discharge water into Escambia Bay — even though the water was to receive a much higher level of treatment.

ECUA began piping water from the CWRF to Plant Crist in 2010. Combined with the CWRF’s internal reuse and the use of onsite sprayfields, Gulf Power and International Paper’s use of the reclaimed water qualifies the facility as a zero-discharge plant.

“The ECUA and Gulf Power partnership has proven to be beneficial for both utilities and the environment,” said Don Palmer, director of water reclamation for ECUA. “Together we have met some unique milestones in wastewater treatment and effluent reuse, and I expect that our partnership will continue to be a positive collaboration.”

Gulf Power’s partnership with ECUA won the Sustainable Florida Award in 2010. A year later, Gulf Power won the 2011 Industry Excellence Award from the Southeastern Electric Exchange, which includes 20 major utilities in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic from Texas to Maryland and Virginia. In 2012, the project also was awarded the 2012 York Reuse Award from the Florida Water Environment Association.

Pictured: ECUA reclaimed water from the CWRF in Cantonment flows through the Crist Plant. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Comments

4 Responses to “Partnership Recycles 10 Billion Gallons Of ECUA Reclaimed Water”

  1. David Huie Green on June 23rd, 2015 6:14 pm

    REGARDING:
    “What happens to the water after Gulf Power uses it? I just don’t understand how zero discharge works.”

    Mainly it’s evaporated and dispersed in the atmosphere, to fall later as rain.

    From:
    http://www.gulfpower.com/community/stewardship/air/plant-crist-more-info.cshtml
    “Plant Crist will receive 17 to 20 million gallons per day of treated wastewater which will be used as process water for the scrubber. Almost 15 million gallons a day of that water will be evaporated through the associated processes.

    “Then about 2.5 million gallons a day returns to ECUA to be dispersed over spray fields or heads to the new plant for re-treatment.”

    David for rainwater

  2. BT on June 22nd, 2015 9:45 pm

    What happens to the water after Gulf Power uses it? I just don’t understand how zero discharge works.

  3. Eric Ericson on June 22nd, 2015 9:23 am

    So, ECUA sends treated wastewater to Gulf Power’s Crist Plant and Crist sends it to the paper mill for them to dispose of the water in wetlands and marginal uplands at the edge of Perdido Bay.

    I guess it is better than pumping it directly into a bay.

    I wonder if the wastewater from the scrubbers contains bad stuff, and is this filtered out before the paper mill disposes of it on land.

  4. Dennis on June 22nd, 2015 6:32 am

    Thanks ECUA and Gulf Power!!

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News