Take a LEED Platinum Tour!
Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District Maintenance Facility
In 2016, The Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District received a platinum-level LEED certification for its Maintenance Facility. Built to provide more space and improve working conditions, the facility incorporates many green and sustainable features.
Recycled & Reclaimed Materials
Nearly a quarter of the materials in this Maintenance Facility are from recycled or reclaimed sources, saving money and energy over using brand-new materials.
The reception desk features one of the most visible uses of recycled materials with desk and slat walls constructed from reclaimed barnwood from Wisconsin in pre-1888.
Other recycled materials in the building include: structural steel (90% recycled), doors (35% recycled), windows (5% recycled), bathroom fixtures (25% recycled), and carpet (4% recycled).
Locally Sourced
The Maintenance Facility also includes several materials that were sourced or built nearby, reducing the energy and fuel of transporting materials a long way. For instance: 41% of the materials are from within 500-mile radius of Madison.
Some materials were also manufactured with local labor in Wisconsin, such as concrete that was extracted around Chicago and mixed in Madison. Most of the walls and floors are made from panels made in Valders, Wis.
During construction, over three-quarters of the waste generated was recycled and most of the wood used is Forest Stewardship Council certified .
Efficient Lighting
The efficient use of lighting in the Maintenance Facility includes three aspects: site placement, solar tubes and solar panels.
Site Placement
The Maintenance Facility was designed to take advantage of as much natural light as possible. The south-facing side features broad windows along the hallway to capture sunlight and save on energy costs.
Solar Tubes
The building features 30 special skylights called tubular skylights or solar tubes. Each solar tube is designed to concentrate and beam natural light into the building. LED lighting is used as a supplement throughout the building and controlled in many areas by daylight sensors that turn the lights off when the natural light levels are sufficient.
Solar Panels
Solar panels on the roof provide about 75% of this building’s energy needs. These panels can generate 100 kilowatts of power, which works to about $13,000 in utility cost savings annually and avoids about 195,000 pounds (98 tons) of CO 2 emissions each year.
The system was installed in two phases: 2016's installation generates 20 kilowatts of power, equivalent to about 10-15% of the building's energy needs, and 2023's installation generates 80 kilowatts, quintupling our total capacity.
Recovered Heat Energy
The Maintenance Facility garage is heated through a radiant floor system in which tubing is looped throughout the concrete floor. The hot water comes from a hot water loop running throughout the District campus that is warmed by waste heat, a byproduct of our biodigester. The biodigester generates electricity and heat from solid waste.
The hot water loop is also used to produce hot water for all the sinks in the building.
Worker-Oriented Design
District employees were the driver for this building. Prior to the construction of this facility, the Operations and Maintenance department was scattered across several different buildings on campus in spaces that weren’t designed to accommodate the staff size. This building brings staff together into a cleaner, safer space designed to fit the work that needs to be done to maintain our system and facilities.
Structured for Workflow
Office space within the building is organized to facilitate easier and more productive teamwork. For instance, the parts and inventory room, which all staff use, is located in the middle as a central hub. Other departments surround this room, with collaborating groups adjacent to each other.
Improved Facilities for Worker Health
From improved facilities for cleaning up after working in the field to an HVAC system designed to improve indoor air quality, the building promotes the health and comfort of employees. Bicycle parking areas encourage green commuting and the employee breakroom provides plentiful natural light.
Additional LEED Features
-Bicycle parking areas and changing facilities to encourage alternative commuting transportation
-HVAC system designed to provide improved indoor air quality and environmental comfort for employees
-Building custodial services use green certified cleaning procedures and products
Renewable Heating & Cooling
The heating and cooling system in this building is a great example of the District’s commitment to recovering sustainable resources as this building is heated and cooled by treated effluent. With this feature, the Maintenance Facility is the first building in Wisconsin using wastewater as a heating and cooling source. This innovation saves significantly on energy and costs, all with a resource that literally goes down the drain.
W4 Water Loop
In designing the heating and cooling system, District engineers considered a traditional geothermal system, which uses the heat of the earth to regulate building temperature. However, the engineers realized that treated wastewater would be a perfect stand-in for geothermal. With a consistent temperature range of 50-70 degrees Fahrenheit, treated wastewater (W4 water) is very similar to geothermal. During operation, between 100 to 220 gallons of treated wastewater flow through the heating and cooling system every minute.
The W4 water is the heat source (or heat sink) for 26 heat pumps located throughout the building and for the heat pump in the building’s ventilation unit. The heat pumps use a refrigerant and compressor to provide warm or cool air to the spaces.
Air handling equipment in the main building and garage use energy recovery technology that preheats or precools ventilation air by pulling energy from the exhaust, which in turn reduces electricity consumption.
Stormwater Management
The Nine Springs plant is designed to treat wastewater, but the District has an interest in protecting all water since it is connected – from rain to groundwater to wastewater to lakes and streams. Just as we work to prevent pollution in wastewater, we work to prevent polluted runoff. The stormwater retention ponds here help protect water that hasn’t gone down the drain.
Native Vegetation
These basins also use prairie grass as native vegetation to retain stormwater. There are native plants along the exterior of the building to absorb rainwater as well. The outside of the building includes “rain chains” that direct rain flow from the roof to the vegetated areas below.
No potable water is used to irrigate the landscape around this building.
Non-Potable Water Use
The heating and cooling system isn’t the only place where treated wastewater is reused in this building. Treated effluent is also used in the toilets in this building. This water obviously doesn’t have to be clean enough to drink, so this is another way to conserve water by recycling wastewater. If you go to the bathroom in this building, the water is slightly off-color – that’s normal. The water we discharge from the plant has been disinfected, but still contains some organic matter and solids. This water is clean enough to go back to nature without harming humans or wildlife, but it would need to be treated further for it to be drinking water quality.
The sinks in the restrooms are provided with clean and potable water, and they use low-flow fixtures to conserve water. Overall, this building uses 30% less potable water than a standard building design would.
