Water

Where does our clean water come from?
More than 1 million people around the world have no access to clean water. Cleaning water takes infrastructure, energy, and expense.

Where does your dirty water go?
During a storm, much of Providence’s runoff water goes straight into Narragansett Bay, along with any pollutants it picks up along the way.

When it rains in an urban area like Providence, there is not enough “dirt” to absorb and filter the water. Water from rooftops and hard paved surfaces runs into storm sewers which are directed to sewage treatment plants. When those sewers are overwhelmed, the water runs, untreated, into the Bay.

At Gordon Avenue, we have installed systems to collect or control rainwater before it heads for the Bay. We also reuse some of that water in the building, reducing our water demand.

Rainwater Recovery and Reuse — Illustration
Some of the water that falls on our roof is used by the plants in our Green Roof. The rest is collected through a rainwater recover system. The water is directed into a large, tank-like cistern. This “grey” water is then filtered and pumped into our restrooms and reused.

Porous Paving Surface — Illustration
The pavers in our parking lot have spaces between them that allow water to filter back into the water table, instead of into the storm drain.