Travis works to save water

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Jessica Clark
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Earth Day was founded by former U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson to inspire awareness and appreciation for natural resources and became an international observance in 1990.

This year the Air Force's goal is to reduce the consumption of potable water, which is drinkable water, from 2007 to 2020 by 26 percent.

According to the Air Force Civil Engineer Center, the Air Force is highlighting water resource management programs that include conservation, water quality and pollution prevention, wastewater and stormwater management, and use of innovative water-saving technologies in design, construction, landscaping and facilities sustainment, restoration and modernization.

"It's important to save water because we need water to live," said Jeff Cook-Coyle, resource efficiency manager. "Our bodies are two-thirds water, so using water wisely and having it available for the future is important. It affects every Airman and family member on the base."

"In 2012, Travis used 748 million gallons of water and our goal for the Air Force is to reduce that by 2 percent annually," said 1st Lt. Joshua Martinez, 60th Civil Engineer Squadron energy program manager.

Travis' water conservation is focused on three main areas: irrigation, dorm and commercial water use. By reducing the water usage in these three areas by 50 percent, Travis can potentially save 21.3 million gallons per day, Martinez said.

"We have several energy projects going on right now to install low flow fixtures in several facilities around base and we are also developing an Energy Conservation Investment Program," Martinez said.

The ECIP is being developed because of the large amounts of water used for irrigation at Travis.

"Our irrigation water use is 56 percent of our total water consumption on base. That equates to 1.8 million gallons of water a day in the summer months," Martinez said. "We're using potable water in our irrigation systems, so that's why limiting the water usage on lawns is a huge target."

In the critical summer months, May through September, Travis has had highs of 3.7 million gallons of water per day for use. In comparison to the winter months, water consumption for Travis doubles during the summer months.

"It basically comes down to human activity and behavior that really helps save energy and water base wide," Martinez said.

Last year, an energy company did a study where they compared two houses: one with new fixtures and energy saving technologies and one without. Two families lived in the homes to see who would use more energy.

The house with the technology saved about 50 percent more than the standard home for the first month. After the company trained the family in the home without the upgrades on water and energy saving techniques, they beat out the house with all the energy saving technologies in the second month, Martinez said.

The same techniques this family used in the standard home are the same ones the Travis community can practice in order to help conserve our water.

"Turn off the faucet in between rinses when you're showering, washing your hands, brushing your teeth and shaving," Martinez said. "For landscape irrigation, it's good to water your lawn for ten minutes every other day, or ten to 15 minutes and skipping several days to get a good soak for the soil. It really reduces the waste and basic practices like that on an individual level will help the base conserve water."