CEE Postdoc Joseph Gikonyo and Co-authors Receive Gascoigne Wastewater Treatment Plant Operational Improvement Medal
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On September 29, Postdoctoral Research Associate Joseph Gikonyo of the UMass Amherst Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Department and his fellow co-authors were honored with the prestigious Gascoigne Wastewater Treatment Plant Operational Improvement Medal at the Water Environment Federation (WEF) Technical Conference and Exhibition in Chicago. The medal rewarded the UMass researchers for their pioneering article, “Taming the Aeration Beast,” in the October 2024, issue of WE&T (Water Environment & Technology). Gikonyo’s two co-authors for the WE&T article include CEE Ph.D. student Patrick Wittbold and former CEE Research Assistant William Fang.
According to WEF, the Gascoigne medal recognizes “authors of an article which presents the solution to an important and complicated operational problem within a full-scale, operating, wastewater-treatment plant which is appropriately staffed.”
Working with Load Controls Inc and staff at the Amherst wastewater plant, the UMass researchers implemented process optimizations resulting in total power savings of about 40 megawatt hours annually- equivalent to more than $4,000 energy savings per year with little or no capital investment. The project utilized high-resolution energy monitoring equipment from load controls and data-driven process control.
The groundbreaking work described in the WE&T article was performed at the UMass Amherst Water and Energy Technology (WET) Center, where all three authors have been doing industry-led technology development and research. The WET Center provides researchers, entrepreneurs, and established companies with a place to develop and validate new technology in water treatment and energy systems. This project is a strong example of industry-academia partnerships at the WET center driving practical innovation and measurable user value.
As the authors explain, the backstory to their WE&T article is that water-resource-recovery facilities (WRRFs) “are vital for the preservation of environmental integrity and safeguarding public health. To meet these needs, the United States relies on more than 18,000 WRRFs. However, wastewater treatment is an incredibly energy intensive process and accounts for approximately two percent of the U.S. power-grid demand, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.”
The main culprit is aeration. “Vital to the performance of the activated-sludge process,” as the authors say, “is keeping the microbes in the correct balance by controlling the dissolved oxygen in the wastewater with aeration, a notorious energy hog. Aeration accounts for as much as 70 percent of a WRRF’s overall energy expenditure.”
According to the WE&T article, “To get a better handle on its energy use, the UMass WET Center and Amherst WRRF installed universal power cells on aeration motors so they could monitor true power — real-time voltage and amperage at the motor. This enabled the facility to observe motor variances, identify inefficiencies in power use, and pinpoint opportunities to better manage their assets.”
In August 2023, the Amherst WRRF implemented a reduced motor ramp-up speed in one aeration basin that has three motors, extending ramp-up time from two to ten minutes. This increased the time allowed for the basin to reach its dissolved-oxygen setpoint. The WRRF did not alter the other two aeration basins, which each have six motors, to use them as a control.
Subsequent analysis of power consumption revealed that the total power savings at the facility would add up to more than $4,000 in energy savings per year with a conservative electric rate of $0.11/kilowatt hours. Reducing the ramp-up speed also significantly reduced observed power fluctuations throughout the aeration cycle. By implementing a similar approach, an estimated one-quarter of WRRFs nationwide with impeller-type surface-aeration systems could realize substantial energy savings at minimal cost.
As the WE&T article concluded, “Simply extending the ramp-up curve can yield substantial annual energy savings without requiring any upfront investment. This approach also has the potential to reduce maintenance costs and prevent premature equipment failure. If these changes were widely adopted by facilities nationwide, the cumulative power savings could be equivalent to shutting down a coal or gas-fired power plant.”
By combining engineering insight with real-time energy data and the WET Center’s hands-on, trial-and-test approach, Gikonyo and his team showed how a small adjustment in day-to-day plant operations can cascade into meaningful user-defined value by cutting energy use, lowering costs, and easing strain on equipment. The project captures what makes the WET Center stand out: It’s where research meets real operations and where ideas aren’t just modeled but tested, measured, and proven in working systems for practical and sustainable innovation. (October 2025)