Wonderful Water: Saving Energy, Money and Time

This week on Wonderful Water, join 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck for a conversation with Mary Tiger — sustainability manager for OWASA — and Scott Alexander, regional director of Eagle Solar and Light.

“A lot of people don’t think about energy conservation when they think about water conservation,” said Tiger. “Water falls from the sky without any energy input, but actually cleaning it to a point that it’s clean enough for you to drink at your home takes a lot of work and energy.”

According to Tiger, the process by which OWASA moves and cleans water used roughly 67 billion BTUs of energy and over $1 million – around five percent of OWASA’s budget — in the last year. Since 2010, however, OWASA has decreased its use of electricity and natural gas by about 29 and 26 percent, respectively.

“We are a not-for-profit organization, a community owned organization,” said Tiger. “Anything that we can do to reduce our expenses are a direct savings to the community.”

That increase in efficiency and decrease in overall consumption also comes at a time when OWASA’s customer base has significantly expanded as the local community continues to grow.

“We have a really water-wise community,” said Tiger. “We have also made some pretty cost-effective investments in energy efficiency — higher efficiency pumps, LED lights, higher efficiency HVAC equipment. We’re really just trying to be mindful of our energy use through energy conservation. So, using less to get the job done.”

By currently leasing equipment from Eagle Solar and Light, OWASA has further reduced its environmental impact while also saving money – though the current results being seen are just the beginning, according to Tiger.

“It’s ultimately kind of a small drop in the bucket,” said Tiger. “So, I mentioned we’ve really tightened our belt on water, on energy conservation and energy efficiency. Renewable energy is kind of the tip of our energy pyramid, so to speak. Ultimately, when all of these projects come online, it will represent about five percent of our energy use and will bring the purchased amount that we buy down.”

Tiger also said that OWASA is “continuing to look for energy efficiency projects” with a focus on long-term solutions.

The solar panels OWASA will be leasing from Eagle Solar and Light are the subject of an on-site drop-in session where members of the public are welcome to join officials and employees for a cup of coffee and conversation about the project. According to a post on the OWASA website, these drop-in sessions will be held at the entrance of Cane Creek Reservoir off Highway 54 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 11 as well as on site “near the biosolids mixing tank on Berry Andrews Road” from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Monday, March 16.

You can listen below for the full conversation between Aaron Keck, Mary Tiger and Scott Alexander, and visit the Wonderful Water page here for more interviews with — and stories from — the people who keep our community growing by keeping the water flowing.

Chapel Hill and Carrboro residents use roughly 7 million gallons of water a day, and “Wonderful Water” is a monthly conversation sponsored by the Orange Water and Sewer Authority highlighting its work to keep our community growing and water flowing.

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Wonderful Water: Saving Energy, Money and Time

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