Illinois American Water Green Initiatives

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Illinois American WaterGreen Initiatives
Karla Olson TeasleyPresidentIllinois American
Water
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Our Environmental Policy A National Endeavor

• Established to clearly outline the roles and
  responsibilities of the operating units to
  support making environmental management a
  fundamental part of our business
• Key points
• Ensure compliance with all environmental
  regulations
• Promote environmental stewardship
• Ensure efficient use of natural resources

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Green Initiatives Encouraged at the National
Level for all American Water Businesses

• Annual Report is published electronically
• Energy usage reduced by turning off lights when
  rooms are not occupied
• Copier set to print double-sided
• Styrofoam and plastic cups replaced with
  cardboard and use of real glasses and mugs
  encouraged
• Green IT equipment (laptops and computers)
  being purchased
• Member of USEPA Climate Leaders program

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Climate Leaders

• Climate Leaders is an EPA industry-government
  partnership that works with companies to develop
  comprehensive climate change strategies
• Partner companies commit to reducing their impact
  on the global environment by completing a
  corporate-wide inventory of their greenhouse gas
  (GHG) emissions based on a quality management
  system, setting aggressive reduction goals, and
  annually reporting their progress to EPA
• American Water was accepted into the Climate
  Leaders Partnership on January 19, 2006 and is
  developing its greenhouse gas reduction goals

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How Much Electricity Does the Water Industry Use?

• Drinking water and wastewater consume
• 3 of domestic electricity1
• 7 of worldwide electricity
• 19 of California electricity2
• Energy is the largest non labor OM cost driver
  For American Water system-wide, approximately 30
  of production related expenses
• Water utility energy use varies widely from 0.25
  to 3.5 kWh per 1,000 gallons of drinking water
  produced and delivered3
• The median 50 of water utilities serving
  populations gt10,000 had electricity use between
  1.0 and 2.5 kWh/1,000 gallons3

• Electric Power Research Institute (Burton 1996)
• Energy Down the Drain The Hidden Costs of
  Californias Water Supply
• AwwaRF 91201.Energy Index Development for
  Benchmarking Water and Wastewater Utilities

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What are we doing to reduce electrical
consumption?
Green Initiatives by Illinois American Water

• Energy Audits
• Replacing old motors with motors with Variable
  Frequency Drives
• Investigating the use of methane from landfills
  to provide energy to power intake pumps
• Using Geothermal HVAC to heat and cool buildings
  (new Champaign Plant)

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Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED)Champaign Water Treatment Plant
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Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED) The Program

• LEED is a third-party certification program
  and the nationally accepted benchmark for the
  design, construction and operation of high
  performance green buildings
• LEED gives building owners and operators the
  tools they need to have an immediate and
  measurable impact on their buildings performance
• LEED promotes a whole-building approach to
  sustainability by recognizing performance in five
  key areas of human and environmental health
• sustainable site development,
• water savings,
• energy efficiency,
• materials selection,
• indoor environmental quality.

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LEED (continued)Champaign Water Treatment Plant

• Geothermal Heating and Cooling (Using the Water
  Wells)
• Pervious Pavement to reduce storm water run off
• Native Grass Planting 15-16 of the 40 site
  acres will be planted Summer 2009
• 80 of the occupied space in the plant will have
  direct sunlight
• New facility will be zero discharge, discharge
  water will be brought back to the front of the
  plant, including water off the sludge lagoons.
  Sanitary wastes will be treated through an
  on-site septic system
• Dark sky lighting will be used in the parking
  areas to reduce fugitive light emissions from
  leaving site
• Recycled materials were used in the new plant
  construction including recycled aggregate and
  steel
• Construction Waste was recycled during the
  building process
• Bicycle Parking and a dedicated parking spot for
  a hybrid vehicle
• Water efficient fixtures
• Variable Frequency Drive Motors to reduce
  electricity consumption

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LEED CostsChampaign Water Treatment Plant

• Additional Design Costs - 103,000
• Commissioning Study - 5,600
• Application for LEEDS - 2,950
• Construction Costs - 400,000 (approximately 1
  of construction costs)

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LEED Costs (continued)

• These costs included the following
• -Prairie Grass Development
• -Use of Pervious Pavement
• -Geothermal Heating
• -Lighting and Electrical
• -White Roof Material
• -Low VOC Paint
• -Tracking of Recycle Material from site and to
  site

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Establishing Native Shortgrass PrairiesEast St.
Louis Water Plant
Post-Planting
Pre-Planting

• Benefits
• Reduced Maintenance
• Increase Biodiversity (attracts wildlife)
• Carbon Sink
• Aesthetically Pleasing

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Recycling Efforts

• East St. Louis Water Treatment Plant
• Paper
• Cardboard
• Plastic
• Scrap Metal (ferrous and non-ferrous)
• Fluorescent Bulbs (using the BulbEater)
• Aerosol Cans
• Batteries (rechargeable and dry cell)
• All Other Districts
• Various programs

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Environmental Management System (EMS) Pontiac
Water Treatment System

• An EMS is a process in which you identify how
  your business operations impact the environment.
  As a result of identifying these impacts,
  objectives are set to reduce and or eliminate the
  impacts.
• Implemented in Pontiac, IL in early 2009
• EMS established to green up the district
• Environmental Stewardship Objectives Set (to
  name a few)
• - Eradicate Phragmites (exotic plant)
• - Recycle Mercury Thermostats
• - Recycling of materials (paper, steel,
  aluminum, batteries)

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Piasa Creek Watershed Project Background

• 16 million gallons per day water treatment
  facility in Alton, Illinois built to replace 100
  year old facility susceptible to flooding
• Old plant had site specific exemption as part of
  National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
  (NPDES) for direct discharge of residual solids
  and backwash water to Mississippi
• IEPA determined that existing site specific
  exemption and NPDES did not apply to the new plant

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Piasa Creek Watershed Project Implementation
Plan Benefits

• 4 million investment in watershed protection
  restoration results in net savings of over 3
  million in capital and operating costs
• Reduces sediment in watershed two times (6,700
  tons per year) the discharge of the new treatment
  plant by 2010
• Reduces truck travel over historic, scenic
  byways air pollution landfill space
• In Piasa watershed reduced erosion and
  pollution, improved water quality, storm water
  control, fish and wildlife habitat, stream bank
  stabilization

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Piasa Creek Watershed Project
Boy Scout Camp
Glazebrook Park
Sediment Basin
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Piasa Creek Watershed Project Implementation
Plan Benefits

• For their efforts, Illinois American Water and
  Great Rivers Land Trust won a 2002 Governors
  Pollution Prevention Award from the Illinois
  Department of Natural Resources
• Practices used Land acquisition, conservation
  easements, wetlands restoration, educational
  programs

Projected benefits ahead of schedule and greater
than expected!!
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Residuals Management

• Water and wastewater treatment plant residuals
  beneficially reused rather than sent to landfill.
• Reduces cost by 10 - 70
• Conserves landfill capacity
• Reduces trucking of waste material
• Agronomic Value
• Soil Conditioner
• Reduce Fertilizer Application
• At ILAW we land apply water treatment residuals
  at Peoria, Streator, and Champaign and land apply
  wastewater residuals at all of our Chicago Metro
  wastewater plants

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Residuals Management
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Pharmaceuticals in Drinking Water

• Partnership with Illinois Environmental
  Protection Agency (IEPA)
• ILAW asked to join the Medication Education
  Disposal Solutions Action Committee (MEDS)
• 1st meeting was held in ILAWs Pontiac District
• ILAW External Affairs Manager Karen Cotton is
  the Chair of the MEDS Communication and Education
  Committee
• Focus of MEDS is to work with IEPA on the proper
  disposal of pharmaceuticals so they do not get
  into our groundwater and water ways
• Committee is working on developing website where
  citizens can go to find a disposal site for
  their pharmaceuticals
• www.epa.state.il.us/medication-disposal/

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Environmental Grant Program

• Grant Program was established in 2008
• A way for ILAW to encourage and support
  Environmental Projects in our districts
• Last year, a grant was awarded to Tri-County
  Regional Planning Commission for an Illinois
  River Watersheds Public Awareness Program
• 3,000 was awarded and was used to place
  advertisements in two area newspapers to promote
  the work the commission had completed on the
  local watershed management plan and to promote
  their developed website
• Applications for the 2009 Grant Program are
  currently being accepted