Emory will begin construction on a water reclamation facility this summer, which will preserve water and save the University money. It will be the first of its kind in the United States and is slated to be fully operational by the fall.
With the new reclamation facility, Emory is projected to save 200,000 gallons of water a day and 72 million gallons per year. The system is estimated to save approximately $650,000 per year and $40 million in the next 20 years, according to Mike Mandl, the executive vice president for finance and administration.
Emory is teaming up with a third party company called Sustainable Water to bring the new system to campus.
The system will be built on the parking lot behind the sorority lodges across from the baseball field. The facility will be a 1,600 square-foot greenhouse accompanied by an adjacent tidal wetland system, according to the project's brochure.
"Through the application of this technology, Emory will save millions of gallons of clean water annually and save ... tens of millions of dollars," Executive Vice President of Emory's Sustainability Initiatives Ciannat Howett said.
The water reclamation facility will extract water from Emory's sewage pipes and treat it through a natural, chemical-reduced system. The water could be reused for non-potable purposes like irrigation and toilet use, according to Brent Zern, an engineer for Emory's environmental projects.
Zern said this system differs from one already in place on campus because it takes "black water," which is water from the sewage system that would normally enter the county sewage system, and treats it on campus.
The system facility will also serve as a new area for research and hands-on curricular activities for professors and students interested in biology, chemistry and environmental studies.
Howett said this system will benefit Emory in more ways than just sustainability because the University can spend the money on teaching, research and student scholarships, which are parts of Emory's core mission.
– Contact Prince Nyarko at
j.p.nyarko@emory.edu
