SAN JOSÉ, CA — The largest advanced wastewater treatment facility in the Western United States, the San José-Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility (RWF), recently received a pair of awards for its Cogeneration Facility. The 14-megawatt facility provides on-site power and heat, replacing aging cogeneration equipment at the wastewater facility. Delivery of the Cogeneration Facility is part of the 10-year, $1.4-billion Capital Improvement Program (CIP) led by global design firm Stantec as program manager, working as an integrated team with City of San José staff from the Environmental Services and Public Works departments.

The Cogeneration Facility received the Design-Build Institute of America National Award of Merit in the Water/Wastewater Category and is one of three finalists in the National Award of Excellence in the Water/Wastewater Category and Best in Design (Engineering). It also won the Excellence in Innovation and Resiliency Award from the California Association of Sanitation Agencies.

The new Cogeneration Facility, delivered through the design-build process, significantly reduces emissions and contaminants resulting from the combustion process, which helps the City of San José achieve its climate action goals. It also makes the wastewater facility more resilient. The Cogeneration Facility powers the RWF and supports the emergency system that enables the wastewater facility to operate even if wildfires, earthquakes, or other disaster disrupts the local power grid.

“It’s a tremendous honor to see the Cogeneration Facility receive these awards, as it is a key project for the overall RWF program,” said Simon Alder, Stantec Vice President and Program Manager. “Half of the energy used at the RWF is from biogas, a renewable resource. It continues to be a pleasure working with the RWF team to implement elements of the Capital Improvement Program.”

“We are thrilled that we won this prestigious award,” said Kerrie Romanow, City of San José Chief Sustainability Officer and Environmental Services Director. “I am proud of our CIP team who delivered this stellar project despite the COVID-19 constraints; this project will upgrade the wastewater facility’s energy and heat production capabilities and meet its heating needs.”

The San José-Santa Clara RWF serves more than 1.4 million residents and a business sector with more than 17,000 sewer connections. The CIP includes rehabilitation of all stages of the treatment process, the addition of a new biosolids dewatering process, and new power generation facilities — all part of more than 30 projects delivered through the CIP.