A current project by UNM’s Physical Plant Department (PPD) aims to increase water conservation numbers on campus. This comes on the heels of the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority’s recent announcement that daily water usage per capita is at a record low of 127 gallons for the area in 2015.
Katherine Yuhas, water conservation officer for the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority, said this is largely due to widespread education on water resources throughout the community via television, radio, classroom presentations, field trips and more.
She said the water authority also offers high-efficiency washing machines and toilets, rainwater harvesting, swamp cooler thermostats and other water-saving devices.
The announcement comes as crews will begin working on the University of New Mexico’s North Golf Course Urban Open Space Water Conservation and Reuse Project, which may help contribute to future water conservation.
Mary Clark, sustainability manager at the Office of Sustainability at the PPD, said the project will entail a new pipeline, which will connect UNM’s Lomas Chilled Water Plant to the North Golf Course Urban Open Space.
The Lomas Chilled Water Plant heats and cools buildings on campus by sending steam and chilled water through piping, Clark said. The project will recycle water (which must be flushed from the system periodically), as opposed to emptying it into the wastewater system.
“Blow-down” water from the Lomas Chilled Water Plant will be captured by the pipeline, which will move it to the pond at the UNM North Golf Course Urban Open Space, she said. There, it will be used for irrigation.
“‘Blow-down’ water is typically dumped down the drain, and this project will allow that water to be captured and recycled, allowing UNM to pump less water for landscape irrigation,” she said.
The project was made possible through $500,000 of funding in state capital outlay from the New Mexico Legislature, she said, and chief sponsors State Representative Gail Chasey and State Senator Cisco McSorley were backed by many others.
The project is also being facilitated on behalf of Bernalillo County and the North Campus Neighborhood Association.
“This project demonstrates our commitment not only to conserve our resources, but work in collaboration with the New Mexico community and its stakeholders,” Clark said.
Yuhas said the new pipeline will be helpful and the project is a great plan in particular.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
“It targets consumptive use of water... that the utility doesn’t get back as wastewater. When you wash clothes or flush the toilet, that water gets returned to the water reclamation plant, and is cleaned and can be reused,” she said. “Water that is used for irrigation doesn’t get returned to us, so we don’t get that second use out of it. While all conservation efforts are good and help our community, conserving on consumptive uses of water helps the most.”
Clark estimates that the project will save up to 14 million gallons of water annually, which would not only reuse the water plant’s “blow down” water, but also reduce the amount of water pumped from Albuquerque’s aquifer for golf course irrigation, she said.
“The UNM campus is continually challenged to reduce its water usage with a growing campus,” Clark said.
Every year, nearly 276 million gallons of water are pumped from UNM’s wells to supply the dorms, medical buildings, utilities, landscaping, La Posada, the Student Union Building and more, she said.
“Much has been accomplished to reduce UNM’s water usage: low-flow toilets and urinals have been installed throughout campus, and to date, a total of 40,000 square feet of turf has been removed for more sustainable landscape,” she said.
Clark also noted that UNM has reduced energy usage by 30 percent over the last 10 years, despite the campus expanding by approximately 2.4 million square feet, she said. Natural gas-fueled turbines and solar panel installations have also helped save energy.
“All the energy saving technologies are carefully planned and managed by PPD with the long term goal of ensuring that the UNM utilities are provided as efficiently and cost effectively as possible,” she said.
Yuhas recommends Albuquerque residents continue to conserve water by replacing toilets older than the mid-1990s with high-efficiency models, she said.
Yuhas sees water conservation as a topic anyone can discuss at any time, which will, hopefully, expand community education.
“I hope UNM will continue to look for opportunities to irrigate with reclaimed water rather than potable water. These are the types of changes that will make our water supply resilient in the future,” said Yuhas.
Visit abcwua.org to learn more about the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority and conservation methods.
Elizabeth Sanchez is a staff reporter for the Daily Lobo.She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Beth_A_Sanchez.
