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Airports were just getting through the passenger drought — then came a water drought.

From recycled water for restrooms to the cancellation of water cannon salutes, airports in many parts of the West are adjusting to a summer plagued by water shortages.
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First, airports had to deal with a drought of passengers due to the pandemic. Now, airports in many parts of the West are facing a summer plagued by water shortages.

In California at least, where the U.S. Drought Monitor reports that almost 95 percent of the state is experiencing severe to exceptional drought conditions, airports say years of conservation efforts make them well prepared.

In response to past droughts, Charles M. Schulz – Sonoma County Airport removed grass from many locations, added drought-tolerant plantings, and upgraded the car wash facility so that it captures and recycles 85 percent of the wash water.

“We also installed a system that uses solar panels to run condensing units that extract moisture from the air, store and filter the water, and then distribute it through a wall-mounted water bottle fill station in the office,” Sonoma County Airport Manager Jon Stout told NBC News.

Like many airports, Mineta San Jose International Airport has automatic faucets and low-flow toilets in terminal restrooms. Recycled water is used in restrooms, to handwash the terminal windows twice a year, and to water the desert-style landscaping on airport grounds, including its much-loved topiary bear. Airport spokeswoman Demetria Machado says the cheerful bear is an “SJC staple” that has been greeting travelers at the San Jose airport for many years and has survived droughts before.

In addition to low-flow fixtures and water recapture systems for car wash operations, Fresno Yosemite International Airport has landscaping that requires minimal maintenance and little or no water usage, yet remains visually appealing. And instead of traditional landscaping, the parking lots “have a hardscape design that uses an assortment of rocks to depict a waterway scheme,” said airport spokeswoman Vikkie Calderon.

At Sacramento International Airport, landscaped areas are watered “at the lowest level possible to maintain viability while minimizing the risk of fire hazards,” said spokesman Scott Johnston, and “concessions only serve water on request.”

Water cannon salutes, which can use up to 4,000 gallons of water and are often used to celebrate inaugural flights or retiring captains, have been discontinued at airports in drought-prone areas.

“Now firefighters do a hand salute instead,” said San Francisco International Airport spokesman Doug Yakel.

Palm Springs International Airport, which saves water with waterless urinals and ongoing efforts to make its landscaping desert friendly, stands ready to comply with any new water conservation or water emergency guidelines issued by city, county, or state officials this summer. That could means turning off the airport’s iconic water fountain, which it did during a severe drought in 2015.

Aggressive water conservation efforts at Los Angeles International Airport are part of the ambitious sustainability action plan adopted by Los Angeles World Airports in 2019. The plan calls for significantly increasing the amount of reclaimed water used for activities such as irrigation and dust mitigation during construction — and already seems to be working: In 2020, over 27 million gallons of reclaimed water was used at the airport, a 39 percent increase from 2019.

San Diego International Airport captures, stores, and reuses all the rain that falls on the top deck of its 7.6-acre parking plaza and has a 3-million-gallon underground cistern to capture stormwater from airport property north of runway.

The airport also captures 100,000 gallons of condensate annually from the air conditioning units that cool passenger boarding bridges and the aircraft parked at just 16 of the airport's 51 gates. That water is used to power-wash the sidewalks in front of the terminals and for other airport washing needs. But in 2019, some of the condensate was purified and used by a local brewery, Ballast Point, to brew a limited-edition beer called SAN Test Pilot. Covid-19 put a damper on new brews made with the airport’s condensate, but the airport plans to get that program back on track post-pandemic.

While parts of Oregon and eastern Washington are experiencing record low rainfall this year, in the Seattle area there is little talk of drought. But as part of its environmental sustainability program, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport has two sets of restrooms that use captured rainwater to flush toilets.

Water from the roof is stored in two 15,000-gallon tanks installed during a recent expansion, and will save 2.8 million gallons of potable water annually. “That’s equal to 4.5 Olympic swimming pools,” said airports spokesman Perry Cooper. “Or enough to supply 300 households with water for an entire year.”