Intel campus receives EPA award for water efficiency

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has honored the Intel Corporation of Chandler, Ariz., with a 2007 Water Efficiency Leader Award recognizing its efforts in reducing, reusing and recycling water.

Located in Chandler, Intel’s Ocotillo Campus conserves approximately 4 million gallons of water daily through three key programs:

• The Reverse Osmosis Recharge Facility, established in conjunction with the City of Chandler, treats wastewater to drinking water standards before recharging the groundwater supply. In 2006, 3 billion gallons of drinking water were returned;
• POTW Effluent Reuse provides treated wastewater for scrubbers, cooling towers and landscape watering. In 2006, 825 million gallons of water were reused;
• Internal Water Reuse Projects supply reclaimed wastewater, rather than fresh city water, to innovative facilities systems. In 2006, Intel saved 530 million of gallons of water using this approach.

The EPA’s Water Efficiency Leader Awards fosters national water efficiency. Winners were chosen by a panel of national water experts and based on three criteria: leadership, innovation and water saved.

For more information on the EPA’s Water Efficiency Leader Awards, visit: http://www.epa.gov/water/wel