Location: Bridgeport, CT

HAMDEN, Conn. (October 7, 2013) – The engineers at Diversified Technology Consultants (DTC) used every green technology available to construct Bridgeport’s Fairchild Wheeler Multi-Magnet High School, the most environmentally friendly school in the state of Connecticut.

The roof alone features a green design with wind turbines and solar panels to generate renewable power, while a rainwater harvesting system, designed by DTC project engineer James Stenquist, CPD, LEED AP, leads runoff water to a 90,000 gallon cistern, which was built into the foundation of the building.

Located below the parking area, the collected water is properly treated then transported throughout the 300,000 square foot building to be used as flushing water.

“We use the International Plumbing Code, which would require approximately 3 million gallons of water per year usage. With all the water saving features, our design anticipates using 1.4 million gallons per year,” explained Stenquist.

In order to make it all possible, Stenquist collaborated with other DTC engineers in the areas of structure, civil, mechanical, electrical and plumbing during the planning and construction phases of the project.

“It was a challenging design,” he said. “It’s a 3,000 year old concept now being incorporated into code and system designs. It saves a huge amount of water, which makes it an exciting design. It was such a large system, so to do it for a public school was thrilling. The owner, construction manager, and architect supported it all the way through.”

The system was manufactured by Hamden-based Burt Process Equipment and is expected to gather nearly 2.7 million gallons of water annually.

Low flow lavatories, sinks, showers, water closets and urinals were incorporated to achieve an overall 44% savings in water per year.

“We anticipate more than half the amount of water usage to be saved each year,” Stenquist said. “This helps the environment, creates water savings for treatment instead of using potable water, and since water isn’t as plentiful as it once was, these savings make a difference.”

The school is expected to achieve LEED Gold certification.