Christopher Murphy is trying to put wastewater to work. As superintendent of the Great Neck (New York) Water Pollution Control District, he believes society too often looks at wastewater as an expensive problem and ignores its productive potential.
“We’ve been trying to tap into the energy and revenue potential of having a wastewater plant,” he says. “There’s a lot you can get out of it.” The district, just outside New York City, has launched a $30 million upgrade — three new digesters, a grease receiving station, another microturbine, improvements to two pump stations and repairs, and improvements to the plant bulkhead.
