Water Efficiency Case Studies
The following case studies provide information about the performance, economics, and/or success of Federal water efficiency projects. Federal agencies can get a good understanding about what is possible at their sites or learn what other agencies are doing.
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Federal water efficiency case studies include:
U.S. Army Fort Carson
The U.S. Army's Fort Carson has built a successful and award-winning water conservation program through a series of initiatives that avoid using potable water (PDF 786 KB). The program involves an innovative approach to utilizing alter¬native sources of water, water reclamation, and recycling.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) operates an award-winning grounds maintenance program that comprises a comprehensive landscape and irrigation management program (PDF 1.4 MB). The program helped the laboratory reduce its water use for irrigation by 30%.
Sandia National Laboratories
Sandia National Laboratories developed an extensive water efficiency program at its Microsystems and Engineering Sciences Application (MESA) complex following FEMP Best Management Practice #13 (PDF 780 KB). The program saves the complex 80 million gallons of water annually.
Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center
The Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center (PVAMC) is a large facility with intense water needs. To help reduce water use, PVAMC commissioned FEMP to conduct a detailed water audit of the Medical Center. The resulting water conservation measures generated a 9.2% reduction in water use, or 1,643,200 gallons of water saved and more than $19,000 in annual cost savings.
Kirtland Air Force Base
Kirtland Air Force Base (AFB) performed an award-winning leak detection and repair program in 2006 (PDF 178 KB). The results save Kirtland AFB 179 million gallons of water each year, which is more than 16% of the total water use at the base.