The City of Andalusia is among communities across the nation that gained from energy-conservation improvements underwritten by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Andalusia qualified for a $250,000 grant that replaced several aging pumps earlier this year at two major lift stations in the sanitary sewer system. It was among the largest grant disbursements soon after Alabama received $55.5 million worth of federal stimulus funds administered through the ADECA.

With a matching commitment of $25,000 in local funds, the Andalusia Utilities Board was able to replace lift station pumps at two locations with new units that will operate more efficiently—and at lower cost—for many years. The city had to demonstrate the lower operating cost of the new pumps to become eligible for the grant, said Bob Carter, the managing engineer with the local office of Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood, Inc.

ITT Water & Wastewater guaranteed a 25 percent savings. The new state-of-the-art, 45-hp pumps delivered a 56.1 percent reduction in energy use, the equivalent of 18,527 kilowatt hours during the month-long monitoring period.