In 2005, the Dublin San Ramon Services District (DSRSD) redesigned their plant to increase its capacity and better serve the residents of Dublin and San Ramon. The plant’s engineers worked with PG&E staff under the auspices of a statewide investor-owned utility sponsored energy efficiency program, Savings By Design (SBD), to analyze the plant’s energy consumption patterns and design it as efficiently as possible.

The evaluation provided important design recommendations that could substantially improve the plant’s energy efficiency. Motivated by the desire to be more efficient, DSRSD staff and management decided to apply the design recommendations in the plant’s expansion. The ensuing new construction and improvement projects resulted in substantial energy savings and greater capacity. The plant’s measured energy consumption is consistent with the annual energy use and cost savings that were estimated in the analysis. Moreover, the plant can now treat 48% more wastewater for the residents of Dublin and San Ramon.