Ever think the sign of the times would state, “To conserve water, this building uses reclaimed water to flush toilets and urinals?"

The significance of the reclaimed water signs posted in restrooms in new base facilities was apparent March 12, at the WateReuse Association’s awards luncheon in San Francisco -- Los Angeles AFB won the 2005 Customer of the Year award for its conservation initiatives and commitment to conserve natural resources.

The WateReuse Association is a nonprofit organization with the mission of advancing the efficient use of water resources through education, sound science and technology using water reclamation, recycling and reuse to benefit the public and the environment.

Water reuse helps communities address the challenges of depletion, contamination and dependency on non-local sources of water.

“We started looking at the prospect of using recycled water seven years ago for irrigation,” said Lt. Col. Sherry Bunch, 61st Civil Engineer and Logistics Squadron commander.

“We could not use recycled water in our facilities unless they were new buildings. Once we realized we were going to construct more buildings, it was our option to use recycled water. It conserves potable (drinkable) water, saves taxpayers’ dollars and saves the environment,” Colonel Bunch said.

“Initially the effort was for irrigating grass areas only,” said Ed Wilson, 61st CELS energy manager. “The process began by working with West Basin Municipal Water District, the local provider of recycled water.

“The first phase of using recycled water was in the southwest corner of the base’s Area B around the commissary grass strip four years ago,” he said.

“The base’s water piping is color-coded. Reclaimed water piping in the ground and in the buildings is either purple or has purple tape to indicate it’s recycled. There’s no confusion between potable and recycled water. Even on the sprinklers, the heads are all purple,” Mr. Wilson said.

Recycled water is used for landscape irrigation, in cooling towers, oil refineries and in applications like street-sweeping and toilet-flushing. Many communities across the nation are using recycled water already with more adopting the practice every year.

“This is a growing trend and some day recycled water may even be used for irrigation and toilet-flushing in private homes,” he said. “It’s safe to use, sanctioned and easy to distinguish from drinking water. Recycled water is used in parks all around the country, as well as in schools.”

Recycled water on the base meets the treatment and water quality requirements of the California Department of Health Services water recycling criteria. The recycled water the base receives is cleaner than 80 percent of the water people are drinking worldwide, Mr. Wilson said.

The usual process for waste water is that it goes to a sanitation facility for treatment, where it is cleansed to a low level and put back into the ocean or a river.

With recycled water, a secondary treatment is done at the West Basin Municipal Water District’s treatment facility in El Segundo, Calif. There recycled water is monitored for bacteria levels and other contaminants and is disinfected before distribution. They then sell the water to local municipalities and districts for use in their infrastructure.

“Currently, base water use is 50 percent recycled to 50 percent fresh water. By year’s end 60 percent of the water used in Area B will be recycled,” Mr. Wilson said.

Another advantage to the base is that recycled water costs about one-third the price of potable water. Additional benefits are that it reduces pollutant chemicals associated with purification, helps drought-proof the region, reduces sewer costs and conserves drinking water to supply to other customers who need it.

According to Colonel Bunch, the national WateReuse Association is looking at Los Angeles AFB as the Department of Defense model for water conservation programs.

“We have visitors who are requesting to see our processes, and we’re recognized as a showcase facility,” she said. “West Basin Municipal Water District wants to use us as a benchmark case.”

That information printed in the restrooms of newly constructed base buildings should not only serve as a reminder of the award the base won and as a reflection of changing times, but that by using recycled water Los Angeles AFB is being a good neighbor.