What a Visit to Stamford's Wastewater and Recycling Facilities Reveals About Our Choices

"At the end of the summer term, students from Columbia University's MPA in Environmental Science and Policy program visited Stamford, Connecticut's Water Pollution Control Authority and its municipal recycling operations. At first glance, these facilities represent the kind of critical, behind-the-scenes infrastructure that most of us take for granted: wastewater treatment plants that protect public health and ecosystems, and recycling/composting efforts that aim to reduce what ends up in landfills."

"As student Brendan Chapko observed during the visit, Stamford's team has chosen to move away from chlorine and adopt UV disinfection. "They decided to switch from chlorine to UV, making the water leaving the plant even cleaner than necessary, protecting the other equipment and helping ensure that what flows into Long Island Sound is as safe as possible," he explained."

"One highlight of Stamford's plant is its advanced nitrogen removal system, which not only improves the water quality of the Long Island Sound but also participates in Connecticut's nitrogen credit exchange program. This statewide initiative allows municipalities to buy and sell nitrogen credits, rewarding plants that reduce nitrogen discharges below their allocation. In 2018, Stamford earned a performance score of 633 nitrogen reduction credits in Connecticut's Nitrogen Credit Exchange Program."

Students from Columbia University's MPA in Environmental Science and Policy visited Stamford's Water Pollution Control Authority and municipal recycling operations. The facilities feature a separate sewage and stormwater system that reduces flooding risk and helps maintain cleaner waterways. The plant supplies part of its energy from solar power and has transitioned from chlorine to UV disinfection to produce cleaner effluent and protect equipment. The facility operates advanced nitrogen removal and participates in Connecticut's Nitrogen Credit Exchange Program. In 2018 Stamford earned 633 nitrogen reduction credits, yielding a $2.5 million payout available for reinvestment in treatment upgrades. Municipal recycling and composting efforts aim to reduce landfill inputs while raising operational and policy questions for future managers and advocates.

Read at State of the Planet