Water
The suburban and urban areas that
surround the Chesapeake Bay are among the largest sources of its pollution.
As one of Montgomery County’s largest facilities, we must manage
our water resources carefully to minimize our effect on the environment.
As
rainwater runs across streets and lawns it picks up oils, fertilizers
and other pollutants. Polluted rainwater then pours into the storm drains.
These storm drains empty into our streams, then Rock Creek, then the Potomac
River, and eventually into the Chesapeake Bay.
Forests
and no-mow zones along stream banks at the Bethesda campus improve stormwater quality by filtering out contaminants that would otherwise find
their way to the Bay. Ensuring that we do not allow trash, chemicals or
oils to be washed down the storm drains also protects our water resources.
Remember-nothing in the drain but rain!
Wastewater
is another source of water pollution. Strict measures
are in place to ensure that wastewater from NIH facilities does not contain
chemical residues from research activities. The wastewater from
NIH then passes to the Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Plant for treatment
prior to being released to the Potomac River.
Our 20,000 employees are major users of water resources. We discharge
708.3 million gallons of wastewater per year into the sewer system each
day. This water is treated at the Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Plant
and released into the Potomac River. Much of the Washington, DC, metropolitan
area’s drinking water comes from the Potomac River.
Making sure that water discharged from workplace facilities does not
contain unwanted chemicals is important to protect public health and the
environment.
Conserving
water at the NIH is also important to protecting water quality. Large
quantities of water are necessary to provide employee services and to
conduct research activities. Limiting unnecessary water use protects water
quality and saves the NIH money.
Related References and Links
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