Smart sewer technology satisfies EPA consent decree, saves city $400 million

Water technology company Xylem is working with the City of South Bend, Indiana, to deliver an advanced smart sewer system that will enable the city to exceed the requirements of a wastewater consent decree for 60 percent less capital investment (CapEx) than originally planned.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) have now formally endorsed the city’s long-term sewer plan, based on the advanced technology. The EPA, the DoJ and the City of South Bend originally entered into a consent decree in 2012 in response to the city’s aging sewer infrastructure that frequently overflowed, discharging millions of gallons of sewage and stormwater into the landmark St. Joseph River each year. The plan to address the problem was set to cost South Bend ratepayers $713 million in capital improvements. But the parties have now announced they are amending the original agreement with a revised plan based on “smart sewer” technology. The City’s new approach, using Xylem’s wastewater network optimization solution, provides “better protection at lower cost,” according to the EPA.