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American Water Builds an
Eco-Friendly High-Rise

courtesy American Water

The Solaire’s rooftop garden provides an oasis for city dwellers.

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With Manhattan reaching a population of 1.6 million, American Water Works Co. Inc. (AWK) wanted to create sustainable water management solutions for the city that never sleeps. As one of its latest green initiatives, the company designed an innovative wastewater recycling facility for state-of-the-art residential buildings in New York City.

According to American Water, the Solaire luxury development was the first of five green high-rise buildings in Manhattan’s Battery Park City to use the company’s wastewater recycling system. “As the [nation’s] first green residential building, the Solaire demonstrates how environmental and sustainable development concepts can be incorporated into future projects,” says Tim Davies, president and CEO of American Water’s Applied Water Management unit.

The recycling system reuses 25,000 gallons of wastewater per day, Davies notes. The advanced filtration system separates waste from water and uses ultraviolet light to kill bacteria. Water is collected and supplied on a need-only basis to conserve energy.

The facility reuses water throughout, from flushing toilets to filling the cooling tower. With this innovative technology, American Water says, the Solaire conserves up to 9 million gallons of water each year and consumes 35 percent less energy than a traditional high-rise, and Battery Park City’s residential systems have saved an average of almost 10 million gallons of potable water per building per year.