Cuxhaven Treatment Plant Reduces Aeration Energy Use By 30% While Ensuring Effluent Water Quality Compliance

EWE WASSER GmbH (EWE) is one of northwest Germany’s largest wastewater disposal companies and is responsible for the transportation and purification of wastewater through 23 modern wastewater purification plants. In Cuxhaven, the company operates a large municipal wastewater treatment plant with the capacity to purify wastewater for the nearly 400,000 residents of this seaside town.

In Cuxhaven, as in most cities, the pumping and treatment processes are the largest consumers of energy in the water cycle. And typically, aeration accounts for more than 50 percent of wastewater treatment energy consumption. 

As a proactive wastewater treatment operator, EWE wanted a system to optimize the energy consumption associated with aeration and improve safety with better system control of chemical usage.