Case Study: Water and Wastewater Utilities Planning for Climate Change CAMDEN COUNTY MUNICIPAL UTILITIES AUTHORITY Background Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority (CCMUA) provides 80 million gallons per day (MGD) of wastewater services to approximately 500,000 people in 37 municipalities in Camden County, New Jersey. Historically, CCMUA has experienced combined sewer overflow (CSO) flooding during intense rain events due to the age of their combined sewer system and a lack of available funding for infrastructure replacement. Climate Threats The primary climate-related threat for CCMUA is flooding from the projected increased magnitude and frequency of intense precipitation events, as well as a projected 18 inch rise of nearby river levels. CCMUA is also responding to higher energy costs, climate change and population growth by examining and improving system efficiency through a number of initiatives. Planning Process To ensure the long-term viability of their operations, CCMUA has set four goals: (1) optimize water quality, (2) improve air quality, (3) minimize costs and (4) reduce energy and carbon consumption. As part of their long-term planning, CCMUA also conducted a climate risk assessment using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Climate Resilience Evaluation and Awareness Tool (CREAT). The CREAT assessment brought together individuals from EPA and various departments within CCMUA to think critically about potential climate impacts, prioritize assets and consider possible adaptation options. Adaptation Measures To reduce infiltration and inflow (l&l) and CSOs, CCMUA founded a partnership group called the Camden Stormwater Management and Resource Training (SMART) initiative in 2011 that integrates efforts related to water conservation and green infrastructure. Camden SMART considered the potential consequences of extreme flooding events on drinking water and wastewater utility infrastructure and operations, and implemented solutions to help achieve the group's goals. See the table below for the adaptive measures that were taken to achieve long-term viability goals. Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority Case Study — Page 1 SEPA ------- Case Study: Water and Wastewater Utilities Planning for Climate Change GOAL ADAPTIVE MEASURES Capturing excess stormwater using planted trees and rain gardens through the Camden SMART initiative Improve water "Daylighting" streams that had previously been paved over using a low interest loan from the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust quality / Reduce CSOs Converting an abandoned building into a riverside park Cleaning inlets to optimize the sewer system's performance through changes in operations and maintenance Replacing netting systems to optimize the sewer system's performance through changes in operations and maintenance Improve air quality Installing catalytic converters to reduce emissions Reducing l&l to minimize energy use and cost throughout the CCMUA system Using gravity connections as a replacement to municipal pumping stations Minimize costs Implementing electric peak shaving Using heating loops and energy-efficient equipment to increase total energy efficiency Installing a 1.8 megawatt solar panel array through a purchase agreement at no cost to CCMUA, and buying power from the contractor at a discounted rate Implementing a sewage-to-heat facility through a grant from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities which converts latent heat in sewage into heat at the plant Reduce energy Building a digester facility to produce enough biogas to meet about 50 to 60% of the utility's power needs Installing a 1.8 megawatt solar panel array to provide 10% of energy needs at the wastewater treatment plant Contact Information For more information regarding CCMUA's climate adaptation planning, contact Andy Kricun at andv@ccmua.org. Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority Case Study — Page 2 &EPA Office of Water (4608T) EPA 800-Q-15-002 December 2015 ------- |