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July 9, 2013

UConn marks eco-friendly water plant opening

submitted photo UConn's $25 million reclaimed water facility will save over 9 million gallons of potable water each year.
Submitted photo A view of the plant from the outside.

The University of Connecticut will celebrate Wednesday the opening of a $25 million reclaimed water facility that will save hundreds of thousands of gallons of drinking water, the school announced.

The facility, which UConn says is the first of its kind in the region, will treat wastewater using microfiltration and ultraviolet disinfection and then use that reclaimed water to cool the turbines at the university's cogeneration power plant. Before the facility was built, the power plant used upwards of 450,000 gallons of potable water each day.

Construction started in 2011 and the plant opened in April. It will be fully operational in time for the fall semester.

It processes an average of 230,000 gallons of wastewater each day and upwards of 500,000 during peak times. The plant has a capacity of 1 million gallons, according to UConn.

The school said the plant may be used to divert reclaimed water for irrigation in the future.

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