Water & wastewater

Get paid for flexibility your plant already has.

We pay water and wastewater plants to shift pumping, aeration and solids handling for a few hours on the grid's tightest days, inside the limits your operators set.

Your flexibility helps keep the grid reliable and power costs down on the tightest days, and you get paid for it. The buyers are new large loads, like data centers, that need firm capacity.

See an example plant

4.6MW−1.1 MW

Effluent NH₃-N0.4 mg/L ✓limit 1.0 · lag modeled

Effluent TSS6 mg/L ✓limit 30

EQ room left70% ✓storm reserve 25% held

Composite 50 MGD activated sludge plant, not a real facility. Toggle, or let it cycle.

The levers

Four ways a plant can step aside without missing a beat.

Every plant is different. We model yours hour by hour and only count what your process can actually give.

Pump ahead into storage

Water: fill reservoirs and tanks ahead, then pump lighter during the event. Wastewater: draw equalization down ahead, hold flow during the event, treat it after. Storm reserve is never touched; wet weather cancels the event.

pumps · wells · boosters · EQ

Trim aeration

Lower dissolved oxygen setpoints within blower turndown and mixing limits, only when your plant has nitrification headroom. Expect about 10 to 15% less air, not more. We model the ammonia lag and the recovery after. Every lever, every season, is pre-approved by your operators.

blowers · DO control · MBR scour

Reschedule solids

Move dewatering and thickening runs out of the event window where cake storage allows. Plants that feed an incinerator are handled case by case.

centrifuges · presses · incinerators

Use what you generate

Shift biogas use into the event window using gas storage headroom, so engines cut what you draw from the grid. We only count generation your air permit already allows.

CHP · biogas engines

Treatment comes first

We watch what comes in and what goes out.

CASBNRMLEMBRPure oxygenOxidation ditchSBRTrickling filterBAFIFASLagoonCEPTSurface waterGroundwaterBooster and storage

Influent first. We model your flow, loading and temperature by season, so events are only planned where the process has headroom.

Effluent always. Your operators set the limits for ammonia, solids and storage. If a limit is at risk, treatment wins.

Your operators stay in control. Your team makes every move and can stop any event to protect treatment. Stepping out never risks your permit, and how it is handled is set in your contract before you sign. We read your utility meter and SCADA trends; nothing new goes into your control loop.

One contract, with Argo. You are paid by Argo, not by any single data center. If you need to step out of an event, tell us: your contract sets a capped adjustment to that period's payment, and our portfolio reserve covers the commitment to the grid.

Built by plant people. Our team has designed and commissioned biological treatment plants, including membrane bioreactors.

Already in a demand response program?

A different buyer for the same flexibility.

New large loads can pay more for firm capacity on their own utility. Your case study compares that with what your utility pays today, shows what you keep, and never counts the same megawatt twice. We only move forward if you come out ahead.

Example

A 50 MGD plant on a peak summer day.

Plant power, MWComposite, not a real plant

BaselineWith Argo AtlasGrid event

Flexible during events

1.1MW

Holding influent in the equalization basin, pausing dewatering and a modest aeration trim. About a quarter of plant load.

Typical events

A fewper year

A few hours each, on the hottest or coldest days.

Effluent

Within permit

Events end on early-warning triggers your operators set, like basin ammonia or DO trend, with margin below permit.

What happens next

From snapshot to first payment.

01 · Today

Flex Snapshot

Answer a few questions and see your estimated flexible load and value right away.

02 · Within 2 business days

Case study

Our engineers model your plant and send a process summary with the levers that fit it.

03 · When you're ready

Contract and test

We agree limits with your operators, run a test event, and start paying for capacity.

Now recruiting founding partner plants

See what your plant could earn.

Free, takes two minutes. A full case study follows within two business days.

No cost, no obligation. Your plant stays private.