Municipal Hydro

There's Power in Your Pipes!

Community Hydro specializes in generating electricity from raw or finished water now flowing through municipal water supplies and treated effluent from wastewater treatment systems.

We have equipment that is suitable for both low and high head applications. Generating power within your conduits can reduce the operating costs of your treatment plant.

In addition, we offer a proprietary technology called a "generating pressure reducing valve" (GPRV), which runs in parallel with your existing pressure reducing valve, to generate power within existing conduits. We're working with SOAR Technologies of Washington, involved in the hydroelectric industries for 24 years, which has developed a method for providing reliable pressure reduction with power generation as a byproduct. The technology combines two standard devices: an impulse (Pelton) hydroelectric turbine-generator and components from a standard pressure reducing valve.

A GPRV is best suited for pressure differentials of at least 25 psi, and flows of over 1 million gallons a day. In order to calculate the type of GPRV needed, we will need information on both the changes in daily and seasonal flows as well as the pressure differential between the inlet and outlet pressure. Lower flows can work if the pressure differential is more than 25 psi.

PRVs are commonly used in water systems to reduce the pressure of water flowing between zones of the water system, and to reduce pressure to a level appropriate for use by water system customers.Tens of thousands of PRV valve applications are estimated to be operating in the United States. Many are suitable for replacement with a GPRV for producing power.

Community Hydro and SOAR Technologies collaborate with the following companies on municipal water system power generation for both low and high head systems: Canyon Industries, a manufacturer of hydroelectric turbines and equipment with 29 years experience; Bat Electric, a manufacture of hydroelectric controls with 11 years of experience and CLA-VAL, a leading manufacture of PRVs for more than 70 years.