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Figure 1
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Figure 2
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Team 6

Team Members

Faculty Advisor

Justyn Welsh
Thomas Pauly
Christopher Tang
Ronald Cabello

Jeffrey McCutcheon

Sponsor

Pfizer

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Over the past five years, the 160-acre Pfizer Groton site used a large amount of water that comprised approximately 225 million gallons per year to meet the site's demand for consumption. The goal of this project was to assess the water usage at Pfizer and identify improvements that would create water consumption reductions and cost savings for the facility. To do this, the team evaluated water usage on a building level perspective, formed a comprehensive water balance for the entire campus, and identified opportunities for water reuse. Based on this investigation, the team's proposed technical solution was the design and construction of an on-site wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The purpose of building this plant would be to treat wastewater on-site rather than sending the discharge to an external public treatment facility. After construction, Pfizer could then discharge the treated water into the Thames River at no charge, saving money on off-site treatment costs. Based on the wastewater discharge to the sewer system in 2019 being almost 650,000 m3, using the team's proposed on-site plant would save Pfizer $1.9/m3. This would total in just under $1.25 million per year in savings on wastewater treatment. An on-site wastewater treatment plant would allow Pfizer to implement a safe and clean solution that reaches their cost and consumption goals.