Air Products, a supplier of industrial gases and equipment and energy systems, said that its manufacturing facility in Santa Clara, California, has installed a new water treatment system that uses recycled water instead of potable water in its industrial cooling process.
Air Products claims that the conversion to recycled water conserves nearly 62 million gallons of drinking water annually for Milpitas, the City of Santa Clara and San Jose residents and reduces the company’s water costs.
According to Air Products, the project represents a win-win situation for both the company and the citizens of Santa Clara. With the new recycled water treatment system, the company can reduce its water costs while conserving drinking water for community.
Air Products is one of the 550 customers connected to the South Bay Water Recycling (SBWR) recycled water line, which consists of more than 100 miles of pipe delivering 15 million gallons of recycled water per day from the San Jose/Santa Clara Water Pollution Plant in Alviso.
SBWR preserves drinking water by distributing recycled water for non-drinking uses, such as irrigating food crops, parks, schools, golf courses and business-park landscaping, as well as cooling buildings and industrial processes.
The extension of the SBWR pipeline to Air Products’ property was made possible through funding from the US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for California.
Approximately a third of the $750,000 project cost was spent to construct and install the pipeline to the facility. Additionally, Air Products invested additional money to connect to the new line, improve water chemistry controls, and upgrade the systems for recycled water. All recycled water pipes are colour-coded purple, a national standard used to identify recycled water.
Patricia Mahan, mayor of Santa Clara, said: “Water recycling reduces the amount of fresh water that is discharged from the San Jose/Santa Clara Water Pollution Control Plant into the delicate salt marshes of the South San Francisco Bay. This helps to protect the environment and ensure a sustainable water supply for the future.”