Howard and NSA reach deal to cool computer center with county’s treated wastewater

By Matthew Hay Brown
 

Howard County, Md., has agreed to supply treated wastewater to cool a computer center being built at Fort Meade by the National Security Agency — a money-saving, environmentally conscious deal that officials say could serve as a model.

The NSA is footing the cost of building a pump station, estimated at $40 million, and will pay the county as much as $2 million a year for treated water that would otherwise be dumped into the Little Patuxent River. The station is to supply as much as 5 million gallons of reclaimed wastewater per day when the center opens in 2016.

“There are so many benefits to this project,” Howard County Executive Ken Ulman said.

Read full article here from The Wall Street Journal