Dive Brief:

• The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District will be forced to purchase natural gas to power its operations in Jones Island because the supply of methane flowing from the Emerald Park landfill is not enough to keep it  running, according to the Journal Sentinel.
• The landfill owner, Advanced Disposal, has a contract with the sewage treatment plant to provide the Jones Island plant with a minimum amount of methane, and is having trouble honoring the contract. The Emerald Park site has only been able to provide 7.5% of the yearly amount it was required to supply.
• The sewage authority has spent $305,000 for natural gas within the past three months, which added an unexpected expense to its budget, and will probably spend 40% more to make up for the shortfall, according to the MMSD, reports the Journal Sentinel.

Dive Insight:

As a response to the low quantities of methane, Advanced Disposal has been installing additional collection wells on site and altering equipment to separate water vapor from the gas. The project, which supplies gas to the sewage plant after traveling down an almost 20-mile pipeline, was expected to reduce costs by 48% compared to natural gas.