Austin Convention Center Water Collection Feasibility Study

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The Austin Convention Center asked our team to determine the feasibility of capturing and storing rainwater runoff from the roof surfaces and condensate water from the building HVAC equipment for distribution and non-potable uses such as landscape irrigation. The intent is to reduce the water consumption at the property and to promote the sustainability efforts for both the facility and the City of Austin, Texas. This report identifies potential volume of water available from rainfall and HVAC condensate, potential spaces to accommodate the rainwater collection system components including storage and piping, how the collected water will be used, and the best system option recommendation. The observations and opinions presented are based on the following: Existing information on the drawings provided by the City of Austin and the Austin Convention Center; Field observation of the building to verify the existing conditions; Site visit discussions with City of Austin and Austin Convention Center personnel to discuss building systems and operations. Based on domestic and irrigation metering data, the building’s estimated total water demand is just over 9.9-million gallons annually. The irrigation demand is estimated to be 210,900-gallons annually. The proposed recommended system is a roof-mounted system, comprised of 34 water storage tanks, each at 5,700-gallons, and three underground storage tanks in the service yard area, each at 50,000-gallons. This solution will supplement all of the building’s irrigation demands as well as providing the facility additional water capacity for other non-potable needs.