The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District's Southerly Wastewater Treatment Plant (SWTP), located outside of Cleveland, Ohio, was recently awarded the Envision???(R)???AE???? Silver award for sustainable infrastructure from the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure.

This award takes into account many different aspects of the treatment plant's infrastructure and landscaping, mainly the environmental, social and economic impacts that the plant has.

The SWTP is one of the largest and oldest wastewater treatment plants in the nation. It is located on 288 acres of land and services more than 530,000 residents. The average daily flow of the plant is 120 million gallons, with a total cap of 735 million gallons in one day.

In 2014, SWTP added a Renewable Energy Facility. The facility burns sludge from both the Southerly and Easterly Wastewater Treatment Plants, converting the fluidized bed incinerators' heat to high-pressure steam, which then powers an electricity-generating turbine, providing 25% of the plant's total electricity. Furthermore, this new building has a silver rating from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).

The Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure stated that the addition of this facility was a main factor for the treatment plant winning the award.