Photo Credit: Flickr Blentley
Water
Due to the dry climate of Southern California, water conservation plays an important role in sustainability at UCLA
Recycled Water
UCLA has found savings recovering and reusing clean water that would have otherwise been lost. Condensate from air conditioning systems, seal water from vacuum pumps and other laboratory equipment, and water from other non-contaminated sources has been collected and used in campus cooling towers for many years. In addition to decreasing the amount of water imported into southern California, use of recovered water reduces the campus water expense by nearly $100,000 annually. The recovered water program has recently been expanded to incorporate capturing the water being removed from under the foundation of the new Ronald Reagan Hospital. Because the hospital foundation extends into the ground water plume, the hospital requires constant dewatering. Rather than being lost to the storm drain system, this water is now recovered and also used in the campus cooling towers, saving an additional $200,000 per year in water expenses.
Date Posted: 2/10/2009
