Californians are doing their part to decrease water consumption. And because we understand that there is an urgent need for sustainable management of California’s water resources, here at the Chevron Richmond refinery we are doing our part too.
Fresh water is a fundamental social, environmental and economic resource that needs to be managed responsibly, which is why we have been actively improving our performance in this area for many years.
Refineries use a lot of water to run reliably and make the products we all use every day like gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and lubricants. To maximize fresh water for use in homes and other potable water users, the Richmond Refinery relies heavily on non-potable recycled water for our operations. Our use of recycled water keeps millions of gallons of fresh water available every day for other uses by our community. That’s enough water to supply the homes of 22,000 East Bay families on a daily basis.
The Richmond Advanced Recycled Expansion plant has made Chevron the largest user of recycled water in the Bay Area. Built in collaboration with the East Bay Municipal Utility District, the plant produces 3.5 million gallons of high-quality recycled water each day. Recycled water cannot be used for drinking purposes and replaces potable water that Chevron would otherwise use. This high-grade recycled water helps make more fresh drinking potable water available for community use.
Today, about 60 percent of the water used at the Richmond Refinery is recycled. Chevron uses this water in its boilers to produce steam and electricity, which is used during the refining process.
Chevron is proud to have used recycled water in its operations since the mid-90s. We are helping conserve water every day.
