TFTT Report
Private Water Develops and Leverages Technology
In our last piece on the benefits of private water, we examined how private operators provide communities across America access to capital for infrastructure improvements. In this piece, we take a look at how private water companies are developing and implementing new technologies for water testing, purification, monitoring and distribution.
For instance, a new technology used by the private sector helps remove contaminants from sewage sludge while allowing for the reuse of water and biogas production. This membrane technology also enables sewage sludge to be converted to energy to run water treatment plants. What once would have been a waste product is now efficiently running water treatment plans, a win for our environment.
Digital technologies are also making water operations and delivery more efficient and environmentally-friendly, allowing operators to better manage water and wastewater systems, detect and reduce leaks, maintain water levels and manage customer demand.
Other examples of technologies being used by private water companies are:
- SUEZ North America’s Aquadvanced™ that reduces energy usage from 6 to 10 percent by recovering energy from water treatment plants.
- American Water’s NPXpress technology, which reduces energy consumption during aeration – a process that uses the most energy during wastewater treatment – by up to 50 percent.
Private water companies are always innovating with a focus on being more reliable, more efficient and reducing environmental impact. These water professionals can focus solely on water and wastewater, unlike their municipal government counterparts who must also focus on other priorities like running schools, paving roads or managing pension funds. Private water companies have one objective in mind – providing safe and reliable water services.
These technologies are changing the face of water operations and delivery in America, which is good for the environment, good for customers and good for the cities and towns that work with private water operators.