Laura Blaylock, has been a Hydrologist for the Tarrant Regional Water District for 13 years. The building was completed in 2009 and was the first LEED Gold certified building in Tarrant County. It garnered a great deal of attention due to its certification and the fact that it had the largest roof mounted solar array in Texas. The TRWD is a large non-profit well water facility that serves 11 counties, which is a majority of North Texas. After 1950 the TRWD received permits to expand its water rights to bring in more water to North Texas.
It is Laura's job to make the operations as efficient as possible since most of the water used in Tarrant county is 78 miles away and downhill. They focus on optimizing their facilities before constructing new reservoirs; however, a new 140 mile pipeline is underway to connect the current reservoirs to the Dallas Water Supply and Lake Palestine for redundancy. Since the metroplex is expanding at a fast pace this pipeline will be a necessity for future water resources. By 2015 the population is expected to double to 14 million, putting great pressure on the water system. At the TRWD, water conservation actually provides the largest return on investment. For ever $1 spent on water conservation gives a $6 return. The current drought in Texas is making it really difficult on the water system which drives the need for even more water conservation efforts. 
As for the building's LEED initiatives, the flooring is made of cork or unfinished concrete, the paints are all no or low volatile organic compound (VOC) paints, the furniture and steel is partially recycled product, and there is energy efficient lighting, heating and cooling. All of the materials used to construct the building were brought in from within a 500 mile radius. The employees participate in recycling and waste reducing initiatives as well. Also, there is a housekeeping firm that has been hired to keep the building running as efficiently as possible and there are people who come inspect the building to ensure that it is maintaining sustainable practices. 
The solar panels on the roof are self cleaning, which occurs when it rains, and cover most of the roof. The rainwater runoff from the roof is funneled down into 2500 gallon water tanks at the end of each of the three building wings for a total of 7500 gallons. Since the roof is about 27,000 sq ft, an inch of rain can actually fill all 3 of the tanks for the building. The water from these tanks is used in the drip irrigation systems that are used to water the shrubs. The landscaping itself is either native or locally adapted plants and grasses that survive well in low water areas. Also, the outdoor lighting is hooded and pointed downwards to reduce light pollution for the building. In the office area floors are carpeted with a recycled soda bottle material and the water fixtures are low flow.
The building itself is very beautiful and the design of the interior is very modern and clean. Laura was extremely knowledgeable about the building and how the TRWD is focused on sustainability efforts across North Texas. It was a fantastic visit and a perfect wrap up of our course. I'm thankful to have had this opportunity to learn so much about the sweeping efforts for sustainable and renewable architecture in Texas that, quite honestly, I didn't believe existed. It has opened my eyes to the varying green projects in my community and I plan on joining up with a few of the local organizations to further educate myself and participate in furthering the sustainability culture in the area.
If you'd like to see more photos of The Annex, please visit my photo page.
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