Sunport gets greener by using recycled water for landscaping

The Albuquerque International Sunport is trying to be green in more ways than one.

Officials on Tuesday said the state’s largest airport is now using recycled wastewater for the vast majority of the landscaping on its roughly 2,700acre property. The switch will save the facility an estimated 4 million gallons of potable water every month.

The project — in the works for more than a decade — will allow the Sunport to remain a relatively verdant welcome mat for millions of passengers each year while using the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority’s Southside Water Reclamation Plant, officials said during a news conference.

“We want to make sure (the Sunport) is a wonderful homage to the best of Albuquerque, which includes trees that are healthy, green grass and vibrant vegetation,” Mayor Tim Keller said Tuesday, standing under a pine tree on a grassy plot just south of the airport building. “But to do that obviously takes water, which is more and more obviously a very scarce resource.”

More than 20 other facilities already tap the ABCWUA’s Southside plant, collectively using almost 500,000 gallons of reclaimed water, according to Albuquerque City Councilor Klarissa Peña, the water utility’s board chairwoman. Reuse is key to the utility’s long-term management plan, she said.

“The Sunport, with its magnificent landscape, is leading the way,” Peña said. “It is a beautiful ambassador for our city and it’ll be a jewel in the crown of the community’s water reuse system for a long time to come.”

The project — which required three new booster pump stations and some reused pipe — cost $560,000 and was funded by water authority customers.

The Sunport is the largest cityowned facility. Officials were unable to answer questions Tuesday about its total monthly water usage.