San Francisco-based water reuse technology company Epic Cleantec announced that a luxury residential building in San Francisco now hosts the city’s first approved and operational onsite greywater reuse system.
The system can recycle up to 7,500 gallons of greywater per day, or 2.5 million gallons per year. The building, Fifteen Fifty, is owned by Related California, an affiliate of Related Companies.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Related on this crucial milestone for urban sustainability and resiliency,” says Aaron Tartakovsky, Epic co-founder and CEO. “We are seeing these periods of extended drought becoming more frequent and more prolonged, so the need to rethink our approach to water is more important than ever. As we grapple with the combined challenges of urban population growth, aging infrastructure, and a changing climate, onsite water reuse presents a more responsible and sustainable way to manage this limited resource.”
The Fifteen Fifty installation captures, filters, and disinfects the greywater from showers, laundry, and rainwater. It then purifies the water and reuses it for toilet flushing.
Greywater reuse can help reuse up to 95 percent of a building’s water use. For a state like California, grappling with an extended drought, this conservation can be key.
“Thanks to the city’s forward-thinking regulatory framework and innovative partners like Related and Epic, San Francisco is leading the nation in applying onsite water reuse technologies to diversify our water supply portfolio and enhance our water security,” says Paula Kehoe, director of water resources at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. “California is periodically subject to severe droughts, and climate change appears to be making this situation worse. It’s more important than ever to focus on creating buildings that are water-resilient and sustainable, like Fifteen Fifty.”
To commemorate the milestone, Epic Cleantec will host an event as part of the upcoming Greenbuild Conference taking place in San Francisco this year for city officials and leaders from across the real estate, sustainability, and civic worlds.
