Skip to content

Case Study | July 3, 2024 Water Conservation Project

In 2023 Cordia conserved 36,225,045 gallons of water, which reduced water consumption 4% below its 2022 consumption rate. Furthermore, through installation of non-potable water wells and innovative water reclamation projects, Cordia was able to reduce its demand for municipal potable water by approximately 169 million gallons in 2023.

Minneapolis, Minnesota – Wastewater Recycling

The Challenge

Historically, municipal tap water would be used to quench boiler blowdown at the Minneapolis Main Plant to cool the temperature of the boiler blowdown to comply with the plant’s wastewater discharge permit temperature limit.


The Solution

The plant commissioned an engineering study of the main plant and it was determined that cooling tower blowdown water (wastewater) could be piped to the boiler quench tank to cool the blowdown to reduce the use of city tap water.


The Result

Using cooling tower condenser water to cool boiler blowdown is conserving approximately 8 million gallons of city potable water per year.

Pittsburgh Northshore Plant, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania – Use of Non-Potable Water Instead of Tap Water

The Challenge

Reduce reliance on costly city tap water for boiler feed and cooling tower make up.


The Solution

The Northshore plant rehabilitated a groundwater well that produces non-potable water and treats that water with reverse osmosis to a sufficient quality to use for boiler and cooling tower makeup.


The Result

Pittsburgh Northshore is producing nearly half of its water needs with the well and has reduced its reliance on city tap water by approximately 48 million gallons per year.

San Diego, California – Innovative Water Conservation Technology

The Challenge

Water scarcity in Southern California and high-water rates necessitated conservation of water at Energy Center San Diego. The tap water in San Diego is also very hard and contains minerals that formed scale in the plant’s chilled water system.


The Solution

Energy Center San Diego installed a technology that softens cooling tower feedwater and increases silica, which enabled the plant to increase cycles of concentration from approximately 3 cycles to approximately 20 cycles, without forming scale in its chilled water system.


The Result

Energy Center San Diego conserved over 9 million gallons of water compared to its previous water consumption in years past and reduced its water treatment chemical use and discharges to sewer, saving over $100,000 in 2023.