Carbon To Sea Initiative Awards $225,000 To Study Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement In Wastewater Treatment

The Carbon to Sea Initiative has awarded $225,000 to a cross-sector team of scientists, engineers, and industry professionals to study how ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) can be integrated into municipal wastewater treatment systems. Announced July 23, 2026, the award will fund a technical report examining whether wastewater alkalinity practices can reduce greenhouse gas emissions while improving water quality, public health, and coastal resilience.

The wastewater sector plays a bigger role in climate change than many realize. Treatment plants worldwide are responsible for roughly 3 to 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and their nutrient and chemical discharges can worsen ocean acidification and stress coastal ecosystems in certain areas.

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The research builds on wastewater alkalinity enhancement (WAE), a process pioneered by CREW Carbon that's already running at more than 10 utilities, where it helps improve nutrient removal, settleability, and greenhouse gas capture. Applied at the point of wastewater discharge, OAE works by boosting the ocean's natural ability to absorb and permanently store carbon dioxide.

A Cross-Sector Research Team

The winning project unites experts from DC Water, Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD), Clean Water Services, CREW Carbon, the University of Delaware, the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES), the Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture (YCNCC), engineering firm Black & Veatch, and the Carbon Removal Standards Initiative (CRSI). Dr. Jeremy Testa, a professor at UMCES, is serving as principal investigator.

Support for the project also came from the Ocean Sewage Alliance and The Water Research Foundation, alongside DC Water and HRSD, both of which are also serving as case-study utilities.

What The Report Will Cover

The final report will include a quantitative and qualitative evaluation framework, biogeochemical modeling, a carbon life cycle analysis, cost and co-benefit analysis, and five case studies from utilities around the world. The team also plans to interview utility operators, treatment practitioners, and OAE project developers to reflect real-world operating conditions.

The award is part of a broader push by Carbon to Sea, which has committed close to $25 million to ocean alkalinity enhancement research worldwide and opened a $5 million RFP in June 2026 to expand its global field research network.

Brishelle Gamble, Carbon to Sea Initiative, said, "Municipal wastewater treatment is essential public infrastructure." She added that the study will help determine whether these systems can also support healthier waterways, more resilient coastal communities, and long-term climate goals.

About Carbon to Sea Initiative

Carbon to Sea Initiative is a nonprofit research effort focused on advancing ocean alkalinity enhancement as a possible carbon dioxide removal solution. It funds scientists, engineers, and policymakers evaluating whether OAE can safely and effectively remove carbon dioxide at scale while helping counter ocean acidification.