The RRBITC uses over 56 million gallons of water a year. That’s enough to fill 2,800 average size inground swimming pools, and almost half of it is used in the cooling towers supporting the chilled water plant.

Johnson Controls implemented innovative water conservation improvements that cut water consumption at the RRBITC by more than 50 percent, such as replacing nearly 2,000 plumbing fixtures with high efficiency and “touch free” upgrades.

While updating the existing plumbing fixtures certainly helps, replacing the city water used for cooling tower makeup with groundwater (yes, groundwater) will have a substantial impact.

Over 90 million gallons of groundwater infiltrates the basement of the RRBITC where it is collected and pumped to the sewer. As part of this ESPC, Johnson Controls will harvest 27 million gallons of that groundwater and run through a softener and a reverse osmosis system to provide clean water to the cooling towers, eliminating the need to purchase potable drinking water for this operation. This treated water also reduces maintenance and extends the life of the towers by preventing corrosion and scaling.