The Northwest Vista College campus uses the same amount of water that about 50 houses consume on a daily basis.
By the end of this semester, that consumption number will dwindle down to about 20 houses thanks to a recycling water project that has been in the works for the past year.
For the last several months, contractors and NVC Master Plumber Julian Rodriguez have been working to switch older water lines to a newer system that will pull water from the lake instead of San Antonio Water System (SAWS) to water the grass and plants on campus.
Julian said a few more tests have to be completed from SAWS in order to make the campus 100 percent recyclable in terms of water.
While the campus will still get water from SAWS (drinking, showers, kitchens), it will be able to save thousands of dollars by using the lake water to feed the plants.
“Once we got the lake, we decided to make the whole campus 100 percent reclaimed,” said Julian. “NVC is just among a handful of campuses in San Antonio doing this. It saves a lot of money.”
NVC Facilities Director Bernie Zertuche said the lake “is also a refuge and a food source for migratory birds, blue gill sunfish, grass carp, large mouth bass, frogs, land animals (raccoons, skunks, etc…).”
He added the lake gets water from several resources: recycle water feed from SAWS; rain water from the parking lots and storm drains; and condensation from air conditioners in the buildings.
Julian said with the campus being 100 percent on recycled water, it won’t have to follow some of SAWS’ water restrictions, such as watering on certain days. He said NVC does have to water at certain times of the day, but the college can use its water seven days a week if it wanted.
Chris Bailey, who oversees NVC’s landscaping, said using recycled water is also better for the plants because it has more phosphates and fewer treatments than drinking water.