Project Snapshot:
Title: Rehabilitation of Santa Isabel Wastewater Treatment Plant
Location: Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico, USA
Project Owner: Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA)
Project Sector: Water
Project Type: Water Treatment
TAP Cohort: 2025-2026
Envision Verification Status: Not Yet Registered
Academic Support:
University: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Faculty Lead: Rebekah Oulton, PhD, PE, ENV SP, LEED AP
Associate Professor & Graduate Program Coordinator
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
Project Summary:
This project will improve overall quality of life for the residents of the municipalities of Santa Isabel and Coamo by enhancing environmental water quality with improved wastewater management facilities. It will also support local agriculture through the production of compost from dewatered sludge. The production of the sludge compost will reduce landfill usage, extend landfill lifespans, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and the sale of the compost will generate local employment and provide a new revenue stream for PRASA.
Plan for Envision:
The Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA) plans to use Envision to guide the planning and design of infrastructure projects, helping integrate sustainable practices into construction and long-term operations. As a major water utility, PRASA aims to reduce energy and resource consumption, improve operational efficiency and service reliability, and reduce operations and maintenance costs while protecting the environment and ensuring equitable, affordable service for its customers. Pursuing Envision recognition provides an opportunity to demonstrate PRASA’s commitment to sustainable infrastructure and communicate that its projects meet internationally recognized sustainability standards.
Academic Engagement:
The Santa Isabel Wastewater Treatment Plant redesign project involved an extensive academic collaboration with Syracuse University and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. At Syracuse, one civil engineering capstone design team applied Envision to guide improvements to treatment processes, on-site energy generation, stormwater management, resource recovery, and site restoration. At Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, all 40 students in the civil engineering capstone course participated across five design teams, with each team developing a unique rehabilitation proposal. Two students from each team became ENV SPs and worked as a separate Envision-focused team to track the credits pursued across all five proposals. This structure allowed students to assess credits, evaluate alternatives, and develop the documentation needed to demonstrate how Envision could be integrated into the wastewater treatment plant’s rehabilitation.
“As PRASA’s representative, CSA is committed to fostering strong collaborations with academia and industry to maximize the impact of our projects and advance safe, affordable water/wastewater services for Puerto Rico communities. This partnership aligns with CSA’s core values, guiding our team to deliver sustainable and resilient solutions for our clients while giving back to the communities where we live and work. Through this collaboration with the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure, we aim to leverage the Envision framework to ensure our projects meet the highest standards of sustainability and resilience.”– Hans Figueroa-Sweet, PE, BCEE, ENV SP, Corporate Water & Resiliency Practice Leader at CSA Group
Project Updates
