Methane gas created via the treatment  of what is flushed down the toilet will help reduce the cost of cleaning debris from city streets.

The Manteca City Council Tuesday authorized seeking bids for a new street sweeper powered by compressed natural gas (CNG) for $563,651.

It will be powered by the methane gas generated by removing biosolids from city wastewater before the water can be returned to the San Joaquin River.

The methane gas — which can be combined with food  waste from restaurants, supermarkets, and school cafeterias — is used to create CNG.

A number of city solid waste collection trucks are already powered via a CNG fueling station at the wastewater treatment plant.

If the methane gas wasn’t converted to CNG, it would be burned off and released into the atmosphere as it is at almost every other wastewater treatment plant in the nation.

Methane gas is the leading culprit in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The cost of producing CNG comes in at half of the current cost of diesel fuel.

The savings help reduce the cost of operating the solid waste fleet and helps reduce future pressure to raise rates.

There is the added bonus of CNG producing less emissions than the street sweeper it is replacing.

But that isn’t the only savings.

The City of Manteca applied for and received grant funding through the Buy America Program. The city was awarded $499,000 from the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program.

The purchase of an American-made compressed natural gas street sweeper is expected to be $563,651.  

The purchase will be funded through the reimbursable grant and a required local city match of $66,173.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com