The World Edition - Environment - Innovative Sewage System in Maryland

Innovative Sewage System in Maryland

By Alexander H. Johnstone
SEPTEMBER 4, 2007

As populations increase and our natural resources begin to diminish, it is crucial that governments, private enterprises and large organizations think on a global scale. Such entities are constantly making decisions that affect the entire world and direction of its future.

Resourcefulness has earned a new meaning in Charles County, Maryland. The county is currently planning to use an innovative sewage system to operate nearby power plants. This method, called a closed-loop system, will be the first in the nation to generate power using the county’s sewage. The effluent would be pumped to treatment stations and once it is treated, it is then routed to three nearby power plants. Instead of groundwater, the plants would use the sewage for their cooling towers and other various operations. Although the plan is nearly finalized, the county government is still negotiating with power plant companies over the details.

Environmentalists and experts in wastewater management are highly approving the project because it is not only innovative, but its benefits apply on multiple levels. The system will preserve groundwater, which is scarce in southern Maryland due to recent population growth. Additionally, the fragile Chesapeake Bay will improve because the sewage will be routed to the power plants rather than flushed into the drainage system. This system will also benefit the Port Tobacco River watershed, an environmentally sensitive area has experienced a great amount of water pollution.

This closed-loop system has been used in various forms around the nation, but never for operating power plants. Such a system is used often for landscaping purposes in areas short of groundwater.

The system will include a natural gas plant in nearby Prince George's County and a coal-burning plant in Charles County along the Potomac River. Hopefully involved will be a third facility, which is a 600-megawatt natural gas plant to be built in Charles County.

This particular region has been under pressure to preserve groundwater as a result of rapid expansion. Charles County and environmentalists are hoping that once this system proves to be effective, the rest of the world will follow. It is essential for people and organizations everywhere to take steps such as this to protect the natural resources of our planet.