Naval Support Activity (NSA) Annapolis held a ribbon cutting and open house for the U. S. Naval Academy Water Treatment Plant in Annapolis, Md., Feb. 3.

This is the first event showcasing energy conservation measures Naval District Washington (NDW) and Naval Facilities Engineering Command Washington have on tap for the Secretary of the Navy Great Green Fleet initiative.

"The NSA Annapolis water treatment plant project was developed as a Utility Energy Service Contract (UESC) water conservation project with Baltimore Gas & Electric," said Paul A. Bianco, water and waste water plant engineering technician NSA Annapolis Public Works Department.

The $7.7 million project is expected to save 130 million gallons per year by recycling plant backwash, reducing groundwater production requirement up to 40% and costs (and impact) associated with run-off discharged into the Chesapeake Bay.

The plant upgrades include centrifuges and gravity settlers. The reject water/iron sludge mixture will be reduced from a 98% water mixture to a 30% cake through a process called sludge-dewatering. Instead of weekly removal of the water/iron sludge mixture via five tankers; we will extend removal to months and remove the iron sludge cake via a roll-off dumpster.

"The project will drastically reduce operational costs ($1.5 Million, annually) through an improved sludge removal process, recapturing of filter backwash, reduced energy consumption and a reduction of chemical treatment," said Bianco. "This plant will conserve millions of gallons of groundwater and drastically reduce the amount of treated effluent discharged to the Chesapeake; two precious and significant natural resources."

In 2016 as part of the Department of the Navy's Great Green Fleet initiative, U.S. Navy shore installations are highlighting energy conservation methods that aide the transformation of the Navy's energy culture and enhance energy security. The water treatment plant is one of several U.S. Navy water conservation projects.

"The Great Green Fleet initiative has a lot to do with using alternate energy, but it's about energy conservation, to find energy conservation measures that will help us be a greener entity and making a better use of our money," said Naval Support Activity Annapolis Commanding Officer Capt. Logan Jones. "Often these initiatives are just proclamations from people who understand that we can save thousands or even millions of dollars just by taking initiative, caring enough, finishing the project to start reaping those benefits."

For more news from Naval District Washington, visit www.navy.mil/.