Watersaving method makes splash at Sheppard

  • Published
  • By 82nd Civil Engineering Squadron
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Nearly every faucet in America, when opened, will produce clean, clear and drinkable water. In recent years, drought has afforded the people of north Texas abundant opportunities to appreciate and conserve this resource. The city of Wichita Falls endures the full hardship of this drought. The area is now in a stage 4 drought disaster and in dire need of water saving solutions.

Sheppard Air Force Base acts as a front-runner for water saving practices, achieving a 45 percent reduction since 2007. However, as the area continues to sink further and further into a drought disaster we must continue to pursue all avenues of conservation.

2nd Lieutenants Logan Mitchell, Colton Wetzel, Matt Major, Jack Ladd and Steven Lawrence installed the base's first rainwater harvesting system, located behind building 1921.

Mitchell, a student pilot with the 80th Flying Training Wing, designed and built the rainwater harvesting system. He worked for the 82nd Civil Engineer Squadron while awaiting his pilot training start date.

Rainwater harvesting is a highly efficient means of conservation being pursued by the base. These simple yet effective solutions save thousands of gallons of water per year. Sheppard's first rainwater harvesting system is now operating at the 366th Training Squadron's Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Unit (ROWPU) training lagoon.

The device collects precipitation from the buildings surrounding the lagoon and funnels that water into the lagoon. This keeps the lagoon full, replacing the water lost during training and to evaporation. For every inch of precipitation that falls on the base, the system directs 1,500 gallons into the lagoon.

This system ensures sustainment of Sheppard's ability to continue meeting training requirements during the drought.

Working in this capacity, he identified the potential for water savings at the ROWPU lagoon, designed the system and then led a team of student pilots from the 80 FTW to install the system.

This project demonstrates the benefits of the 80th FTW and 82nd TRW pooling their resources to accomplish Sheppard's mission more efficiently.