Loudoun Water Awarded $1.78 Million in Stimulus Funds for Green Projects

Ashburn – Loudoun Water, the water and wastewater utility serving the unincorporated areas of Loudoun County, Virginia has been awarded $1.78 million in Stimulus Funds for two shovel-ready “green” infrastructure projects that will deliver reclaimed water for non-potable uses to commercial facilities in Loudoun. Two criteria for receiving the funds – the availability of “shovel ready” projects and projects that would support/create “green” jobs – were met, making Loudoun Water one of only 3 water utilities in northern Virginia to receive the Stimulus funds.

The first project, totaling $580,000, is for 3,900 feet of 16-inch “purple pipe” for a water reuse main to serve a private office building and the “One Loudoun” World Trade Center development on Loudoun County Parkway near Route 7 in Loudoun. The second project, totaling $1.2 million, is to install 4,920 feet of purple pipe to the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation located along Route 28 in Loudoun. Both customers expressed interest in receiving reclaimed water for irrigation, cooling towers and other non-potable uses, in order to meet LEED (Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design) criteria. Both water reuse mains will be bid and constructed over the next 4-6 months.

Water reuse – the use of reclaimed (highly treated) wastewater for non-potable uses – is rapidly taking hold throughout the United States as a sustainable alternative to using highly treated drinking water for irrigation and coolant. Reclaimed water in Loudoun is available from Loudoun Water’s Broad Run Water Reclamation Facility, which came on line in June, 2008. The key benefits of using reclaimed water for non-potable purposes are that it: conserves precious drinking water, reduces water withdrawal from rivers, reduces nutrient discharges to the Chesapeake watershed, and is cost effective.

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is the entity responsible for evaluating applicants for reclaimed water projects and for disbursing the funds in Virginia. Nearly 300 applications were submitted from Virginia utilities for reuse projects worth $1.3 billion, though only $77 million was available.

According to Dave Paylor, DEQ Director, “Using reclaimed water will conserve high quality water for drinking and other essential uses, reducing stress on water resources throughout the Commonwealth.”

Contact Samantha Villegas, Mgr. of Communications
Office 571.291.7942


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