The City of Gresham was recently awarded the 2020 PNCWA Excellence in Resource Recovery Award, which recognizes programs (nutrient, energy, water, or carbon recovery) that demonstrate outstanding performance in moving the concept of resource recovery forward in the Pacific Northwest region.

The City’s treatment plant treats 13 million gallons of water daily and serves 114,000 customers. The plant now produces more energy than it uses, and in 2015, the plant was the first in the Pacific Northwest to reach energy net zero status. This status was achieved through increased biogas production through co-digestion, co-generation of the biogas, energy efficiency improvements, and energy production by solar panels installed on the property.

Upon receipt of the award on behalf of the City, Alan Johnston, Senior Engineer at the City of Gresham, remarked, “I would like to thank the PNCWA awards committee for selecting the Gresham WWTP for the PNCWA Excellence in Resource Recovery Award. The City is very proud of the energy net-zero accomplishment and the benefit to the City of reduced electrical utility costs, FOG receiving facility revenues, and free cogeneration building heat that has reduced the WWTP operational costs by about $1 million a year.”

Congratulations, City of Gresham — thank you for your stewardship to the Pacific Northwest!

Thank you for tuning into the Resource Recovery update. If you’re interested in joining the Resource Recovery Committee, please reach out to Jason Flowers at [email protected].