Making Strides in Environmental Friendliness and Sustainability

Last week, we broke ground on our latest project to make our company more environmentally friendly and to improve our overall sustainability. We are connecting to the town of Easton’s water and sewage systems! When the project is complete, both our water and sewer systems will be managed by Easton Utilities; eliminating our septic system and our dependence on well water.

By eliminating our septic system, we are making strides to be more environmentally friendly. Even when properly maintained, septic systems allow some nutrients (phosphate and nitrogen) to be discharged into groundwater, which in high concentrations can harm nearby ecosystems (e.g. the Chesapeake Bay). We are acting to preserve our local ecosystems by moving away from our septic system and utilizing the sewage system of Easton. Easton’s Enhanced Nutrient Removal Wastewater Treatment Facility is one of the most environmentally friendly wastewater treatment plants in Maryland. The facility utilizes a wide range of innovative technology including ultraviolet radiation for disinfection and an advanced Solids Handling System to convert sludge into a dry, manageable, and useful fertilizer. So not only is it more environmentally friendly to use Easton Utilities sewage system instead of a septic system, but it will eliminate our need to store and haul all process wastewater away to a treatment facility. Having fewer trucks coming to pick up and transport the wastewater means less air pollution and less use of fossil fuels! That’s part of our motivation for making our own deionized (DI) water too. We utilize a Reverse Osmosis system to remove impurities from our water, ensuring our products are of the highest quality, instead of shipping DI water in.
 
Our decision to move away from relying on well water to utilizing Easton Utilities is based on our desire to be more sustainable. It will provide us with a more reliable, long-term source of water, while limiting the number of groundwater sources being depleted. Overusing groundwater (from wells) has the potential to negatively affect the environment. When this water is pumped out of the ground, more water doesn’t just seep back into the ground. It also evaporates, runs off into rivers, and eventually ends up in the ocean, raising the global sea levels. The water we get from Easton Utilities will still come from groundwater, but we will have access to a larger instantaneous volume to support our growth. We will be able to continue growing our business, supplying more customers, and widening our product offerings. Currently, we consume nearly 1 million gallons of water each year and with our planned growth, that number will only increase. Since a significant portion of the water goes directly into our products, instead of back into the ground, it is essential we pursue the most sustainable options available to us.

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Doing Our Part to Preserve the Chesapeake Bay

This project is also our way of supporting Maryland’s plan to clean the Chesapeake Bay. The plan is centered on reducing pollution in the Bay. Even the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is involved with monitoring its progress.
 
Over time, nutrient pollution (from humans) has caused tremendous harm to the Chesapeake Bay. Maryland’s plan to clean the Bay involves reducing the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment that is allowed to flow into the Bay via runoff. The maximum amount of nutrient pollution that the Bay can receive, remain healthy and meet state water quality standards is referred to as the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). For Maryland, the annual limits of pollution are 41.2 million pounds of nitrogen, 2.8 million pounds of phosphorus, and 1.3 billion pounds of sediments.
 
By eliminating our septic system and ending our reliance on well water, we are helping to reduce the amount of pollution that ends up in the Chesapeake Bay, while also limiting our environmental impact on groundwater.

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Water-Based, Environmentally Friendly Products

For those of you that don’t know, we are proud manufacturers of water-based and environmentally friendly products; which is why we use so much water each year. So not only will connecting to Easton Utilities provide us with a sustainable water source, but it ensures we will be able to remain in business for years to come without harming the environment. We will be able to continue providing safe and sustainable products in a safe and (more) sustainable facility!

Thank You Duvall Bros. for Your Help!

The Duvall Bros. have been instrumental in connecting us to Easton Utilities. They are doing all the work of excavating and installing the new sewer and water connections to the headers underground. They have been at our facility digging trenches for the new connections, making the connections, and filling the trenches back in. Additionally, they are taking care of disabling and abandoning the old septic system tanks, since we won’t be needing them anymore!

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