The multi-facility agreement brings CREW’s process intensification solution to Hampton Roads, improving performance, lowering costs, and permanently removing greenhouse gases.
NORFOLK, VA — HRSD (Hampton Roads Sanitation District) and CREW announce a long-term partnership to deploy CREW’s process intensification solution at its two Norfolk-based wastewater treatment facilities: the Virginia Initiative Treatment Plant and the Army Base Treatment Plant.
The innovative partnership began with HRSD testing CREW’s patented technology, which uses calcium carbonate dosing for process optimization and greenhouse gas removal. During the initial year of testing, CREW technology drove significant improvements in biological nutrient removal, optimizing plant performance, lowering wastewater treatment costs, and permanently removing greenhouse gases, which has been verified.
Now HRSD’s patented technology* combined with CREW’s approach will further improve wastewater plant performance, reduce dependence on conventional chemicals, keep wastewater treatment rates as low as possible, and augment greenhouse gas removal from wastewater treatment processes. HRSD will be a leading case study in how to align positive environmental outcomes with the bottom line.
CREW’s process intensification technology optimizes biological nutrient removal and settleability by dosing naturally-occurring calcium carbonate to optimal levels to deliver consistent treatment and climate impact. This allows HRSD to reduce chemical usage, improve settleability, and ultimately drive opex and capex savings.
“The combined approach also enhances biomass settling for an intensification benefit, while simultaneously providing very low secondary effluent turbidity — a challenge for other competing approaches. The overall solution is transformational for facilities attempting to do biological nitrogen and/or phosphorus removal under the typical alkalinity-limited conditions experienced at many treatment plants. As we extend this approach to our Virginia Initiative Plant, we expect significant capital and operational savings for HRSD,” said HRSD Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Charles Bott.
Once again leading the industry, HRSD is the second major U.S. wastewater utility to deploy wastewater alkalinity enhancement at scale following CREW’s demonstration at Army Base Treatment Plant in 2024.
“HRSD is one of the leading wastewater utilities in the country,” said CREW CEO, Dr. Joachim Katchinoff. “This exciting partnership further validates that CREW’s approach delivers real value for utilities facing rising costs and tighter regulations. Together, CREW and HRSD will show a way to use existing wastewater infrastructure to boost the bottom line and improve environmental outcomes.”
CREW’s solution provides multiple benefits for wastewater utilities:
- Optimized performance
CREW’s approach drives more consistent biological treatment, better nutrient removal and improved settleability, and valuable carbon credits — especially in combination with HRSD’s patented technology.
- Cost savings
CREW provides compounding opex savings, using a more cost-effective alternative to replace conventional chemicals and improve nitrification performance, decrease the use of metal salts for phosphorus removal, and potentially improve thickening and dewatering. Intensification combined with low turbidity effluent can also provide the opportunity for capex savings.
- Enhanced safety
CREW’s solution minimizes operator risk associated with hazard chemicals such as sodium hydroxide.
- Efficient compliance
CREW’s technology results in stable, more consistent biological and nutrient removal, which leads to better effluent quality to help facilities meet permit regulations.
- Environmental impact
CREW reduces facilities’ carbon footprint by replacing carbon-intensive chemicals with locally-sourced minerals as well as reducing process emissions.
“This partnership with CREW represents the next important step in HRSD’s story as an innovative leader in the wastewater industry,” said HRSD CEO Jay Bernas. “Together with CREW, HRSD will reduce financial as well as environmental costs while improving how we treat wastewater for the communities we serve.”
About HRSD
HRSD is a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia created by public referendum in 1940 and currently serves 20 cities and counties in southeast Virginia and the Eastern Shore, an area with a population of 1.9 million.
*HRSD’s patented inDENSE® technology is a wastewater treatment technology that uses hydrocyclones to improve settling rates and increase hydraulic capacity, doing so by selectively separating and retaining denser biomass. Combining HRSD’s inDENSE technology with CREW’s approach delivers multiple benefits, including consistent biological treatment and reduced chemical usage.
HRSD’s Promise: We promise to treat wastewater and recover natural resources to protect public health and the environment.
Our Vision: Our communities will have clean waterways and reliable water resources for generations to come.
Media Contact:
Leila Rice, APR – 757.460.7056
Chief Communications Officer
lrice@hrsd.com
About CREW
CREW is a water technology company providing wastewater treatment facilities with a process intensification solution that improves performance, lowers costs, and permanently removes greenhouse gases.
CREW’s process intensification technology optimizes alkalinity through calcium carbonate dosing that delivers consistent treatment, better settleability, reduced chemical usage, cost savings, and greenhouse gas removal.
Our data-driven solution integrates seamlessly into operators’ existing processes, with measurable results in weeks, to better serve communities.
Media Contact:
Clare Bennett
Communications Lead
clare.bennett@crewcarbon.com