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U.S. EPA honors Intel Corporation, Santa Clara Valley Water District with Water Efficiency Leader award Billions of gallons of water saved in Arizona and California

Release Date: 12/04/2007
Contact Information: Francisco Arcaute, (213) 244-1815, cell (213) 798-1404, [email protected]

(12/04/07) LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has honored the Intel Corporation, of Chandler, Ariz., and the Santa Clara Valley Water District, of San Jose, Calif., with the 2007 Water Efficiency Leader award recognizing their efforts in reducing, reusing and recycling water.

“We applaud these winners for saving water, energy and money for America's families and communities," said Benjamin H. Grumbles, the U.S. EPA's assistant administrator for water. "They're proving innovative technology and environmental stewardship can help conserve our country's greatest liquid asset.”

Located in Chandler, Intel’s Ocotillo Campus conserves approximately 4 million gallons of water daily through three key programs:

* The Reverse Osmosis Recharge Facility, established in conjunction with the City of Chandler, treats wastewater to drinking water standards before recharging the groundwater supply. In 2006, 3 billion gallons of drinking water were returned;
* POTW Effluent Reuse provides treated wastewater for scrubbers, cooling towers and landscape watering. In 2006, 825 million gallons of water were reused;
* Internal Water Reuse Projects supply reclaimed wastewater, rather than fresh city water, to innovative facilities systems. In 2006, Intel saved 530 million of gallons of water using this approach.

The Santa Clara Valley Water District is the water management agency for Santa Clara County, serving 15 cities and 1.7 million residents. Through multiple water efficiency programs, the Santa Clara Valley Water District saved, in 2006 – 2007, 55,000 acre-feet of water, some 18 billions gallons of water – 12% of the County’s total annual water use.

The EPA’s Water Efficiency Leader Awards fosters national water efficiency. Winners were chosen by a panel of national water experts and based on three criteria: leadership, innovation and water saved.

For more information on the EPA’s Water Efficiency Leader Awards, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/water/wel

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