Saving Water and Sewer Costs at the Strathmore Music Center & Clarksburg Correctional Facility

About the Program

Category: County Resiliency (Best in Category)

Year: 2014

Montgomery County Government initiated a program titled Rewarding Excellence that provided an incentive program designed to encourage and promote innovative ideas, concepts and strategies for the cost effective delivery of County services and products. The Rewarding Excellence program initiated a work group consisting of a cross section of Facility employees reviewing cost saving measures on mechanical and electrical utilities used in operating County buildings. The work group reviewed water consumption (make-up water) on cooling equipment cooling used on two County owned buildings: Strathmore Music Center and Clarksburg Correctional Facility. The work group developed a plan to reduce water consumption on large mechanical cooling towers by adding an approved sub-meter by the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC). The sub-meters record and calculate water entering sanitary sewer system, allowing it to be netted out of utility bills. The program’s annual savings are $68,596 after the cost of capital and will continue for a decade or more.