Minnesota Twins stadium to recycle rainwater

Minnesota Twins stadium to recycle rainwater
by Candace Lombardi

The Minnesota Twins' new stadium will include a rain-water recycling system, the baseball team said Tuesday.

The system was custom designed for Target Field by Minnesota-based Pentair, a tech company that specializes in part on water treatment and storage. Pentair's system will capture, filter, and purify rainwater for reuse at the stadium.

Specifically, the system will collect and purify rainwater from throughout the ballpark's seven acres, including the stands, and store it in a cistern buried deep in the ground under the outfield. That so-called gray water will then be used to wash down the stands and irrigate the field.

Pentair, which has been named the "official sustainable water provider" for the Twins, asserts that its filtration and purification system produces water that is as clean or cleaner than most household tap water.

In addition to the rain-recycling system, Pentair will also provide the stadium's spectator suites, administrative offices, and training facilities for players with its tap water filtration system. The additional system is part of an effort to encourage stadium visitors to drink tap water and use less bottled water.

It's estimated that Target Field will still need to draw 50 percent of its water from the municipality. However, the use of gray water should reduce the club's use of municipal water by about 2 million gallons per year, according to the Twins.

"Clean water and conservation are worldwide issues, but that being said, I believe that they hit closer to home in the Land of 10,000 Lakes," Twins President Dave St. Peter said at a Tuesday news conference.

Comments

by javair January 13, 2010 1:18 PM PST

Seattle Mariners' Safeco Field has used a rainwater capture system for use on its field since it was built about ten years ago. The water that runs off the facility is captured in giant tanks, they send water under the field, and it is then heated so that the grass will grow in spring. I forget the statistic they gave when I was on tour there, but is was immense amount of gallons collected per month here in the Pacific Northwest.

by MaurizioMaranghi January 19, 2010 11:05 AM PST
WOW! What an amazing recycling idea! Seriously, all stadiums, buildings, etc. need to recycle rainwater as well, especially in places such as Seattle (where it rains 10 months out of the year). Great post...keep 'em coming.

- Maurizio Maranghi -

What a great idea. How much energy is used to heat the water, etc.? Is it used for irrigation of the playing fields? Water conservation is almost always a good deal.