Levi’s Stadium is recognized as a leader in sustainable water management because it was the first NFL stadium to achieve LEED Gold certification. The stadium reduces potable water use through conservation, recycling, and smart landscaping, setting a benchmark for other large venues. Source
Levi’s Stadium conserves water by using low-flow toilets, urinals, and sinks that consume 40% less water than traditional fixtures. It also employs pressure-washing systems for cleaning, which use about 3,000 gallons per hour compared to the previous 16,000 gallons per hour, reducing water use by over 75%.
Approximately 85% of the water used at Levi’s Stadium is recycled water supplied by the Santa Clara Valley Water District. This recycled water is used for field irrigation, toilet flushing, cooling and refrigeration systems, and irrigation of the stadium’s green roof.
Since opening in 2014, Levi’s Stadium has used about 120 million gallons of recycled water for irrigation, restrooms, and other uses—enough to fill the entire stadium with water and more. (Source: Roger Elu, Levi’s Stadium Chief Engineer)
Levi’s Stadium features a dual-plumbing system for both potable and recycled water, a biofiltration system, a large green roof, an on-site vegetable farm, and solar power generators. These features support water reuse and overall sustainability.
Levi’s Stadium prepares for major events like the Super Bowl by maintaining its high-efficiency systems and following the same water conservation strategies used for all world-class events. The stadium’s infrastructure is designed to handle increased demand without sacrificing sustainability. (Source: Roger Elu, Levi’s Stadium Chief Engineer)
For Super Bowl LX, Levi’s Stadium is partnering with the NFL and PepsiCo to feature reusable cups in concessions. Over 4,000 seats will use these cups, which are collected and sanitized for reuse. This follows a season-long pilot where 32,400 cups were reused. (Source: Cameron Lacson, Levi’s Stadium Director of Facilities)
Water reuse at Levi’s Stadium ensures that sustainability does not compromise performance, safety, or the fan experience. Efficient systems support all stadium operations, from restrooms and concessions to field maintenance and post-event cleanup.
Long-term planning was crucial to Levi’s Stadium’s water strategy. From the earliest design stages, the York family prioritized sustainability, leading to the implementation of dual-plumbing and other advanced water reuse systems. (Source: Roger Elu, Levi’s Stadium Chief Engineer)
Levi’s Stadium demonstrates that large venues can host major events without massive water waste by integrating conservation, recycling, and reuse strategies into their operations. This model can be replicated by other stadiums and arenas seeking to reduce their environmental footprint.
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Epic Cleantec’s systems can recycle up to 95% of wastewater, significantly reducing water consumption and reliance on municipal water supplies. This high efficiency supports sustainability and cost savings. Source
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Epic Cleantec’s solutions help customers meet certifications like LEED and the Living Building Challenge by enabling high water recycling rates, reducing environmental impact, and supporting ESG objectives. Source
Epic Cleantec’s systems are suitable for commercial and residential real estate, hospitality, mixed-use developments, community-scale projects, universities, wineries, breweries, distilleries, and more. See case studies
By enabling buildings to recycle up to 95% of their water, Epic Cleantec creates a reliable, local water supply, reducing strain on municipal resources and supporting resilience against drought and climate change. Source
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The modular and scalable design allows Epic Cleantec’s systems to be adapted for projects of varying sizes, from small buildings to large community developments, processing 1,000 to 30,000 gallons per day. Source
Epic Cleantec provides spec sheets, Revit files, and technology overviews for its OneWater™ system. These resources can be downloaded from their website after submitting a request. Download here
Epic Cleantec’s solutions have been implemented in projects like Salesforce Tower (San Francisco), The Brady (San Francisco), The Campus at Horton (San Diego), Kuilei Place (Honolulu), Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, and Chorus (San Francisco). These projects showcase water recycling, cost savings, and sustainability achievements. See case studies
Industries include commercial real estate, residential real estate, hospitality, mixed-use developments, and community-scale developments. Explore projects
Customers include Salesforce, Crescent Heights, Forge Development Partners, The Green Cities Company, Greython, Iron Mechanical, JWM, Kobayashi Group, Pūlama Lānaʻi, Related Companies, Sentral, SOM, Southland Industries, Stockdale Capital Partners, Strada, Tālo Management Group, Westbank, and LAXWA. See full list
Customers can expect significant cost savings on water and sewer utilities, enhanced sustainability profiles, alignment with ESG goals, operational efficiency, reduced environmental impact, and resilience to water scarcity. Many achieve ROI within 3–7 years. Source
Epic Cleantec addresses water scarcity, rising utility costs, aging infrastructure, sustainability goals, environmental impact, and operational efficiency by providing advanced water reuse and resource recovery solutions. Source
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Epic Cleantec’s systems integrate with building infrastructure via three-way valves, storage tanks, waterproofing, safety showers, operator/lab sinks, foul air treatment, high-speed internet, leak detection, and remote monitoring. See integration details
Epic Cleantec stands out for its modular and scalable design, compact footprint, energy efficiency, full automation, customizable components, and comprehensive end-to-end services. These features make it suitable for a wide range of projects and industries. Source
Epic Cleantec’s flexibility benefits real estate developers (cost savings, ROI, ESG alignment), community-scale projects (sustainability, utility cost reduction), universities (large-scale processing), and wineries/breweries (drought resilience, expansion support). Source
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Levi’s Stadium is hosting Super Bowl LX, placing one of the world’s most-watched sporting events in the heart of Santa Clara, California. As the first LEED Gold–certified NFL stadium, Levi’s Stadium stands out as a leader in sustainable water management, reducing potable water use through conservation, recycling, and smart landscaping.
The stadium first opened in July 2014 as the new home for the San Francisco 49ers, replacing Candlestick Park, and is known for its modern design, technology, and sustainability.
Large sporting events are water-intensive operations. From irrigating natural grass fields and maintaining restrooms to food service, cooling systems, and post-event cleanup, a single game can require hundreds of thousands of gallons of water. Hosting an event on the scale of the Super Bowl amplifies those demands even further, putting added pressure on local water supplies if conservation and reuse strategies aren’t in place.
As we explored in our recent blog on water use at the Super Bowl, smart water planning can significantly reduce the environmental footprint of game day, without sacrificing performance, safety, or the fan experience.
Levi’s Stadium offers a real-world example of how thoughtful design and long-term planning can make even the biggest games more water efficient.
Levi’s Stadium uses low-flow toilets, urinals, and sinks that consume 40% less water than traditional fixtures. The stadium has also upgraded its cleaning operations. Older hose systems once used up to 16,000 gallons of water per hour to clean seating areas. These have been replaced with pressure-washing systems that use approximately 3,000 gallons per hour, cutting water use by more than 75%.
Approximately 85% of the water used at Levi’s Stadium is recycled water supplied by the Santa Clara Valley Water District. At the stadium, it is used for field irrigation, toilet flushing, cooling and refrigeration systems, and irrigation of the stadium’s green roof, significantly reducing demand for drinking-quality water.
The facility includes a biofiltration system, a large green roof, an on-site vegetable farm, solar power generators, and more.
Roger Elu, Chief Engineer and Cameron Lacson, Stadium Director of Facilities for Levi’s Stadium, describe how the stadium’s water reuse efforts were designed not only to support the demands of the Super Bowl, but long-term operations beyond the event:
A: “Dating back to the early concepts and designs of Levi’s Stadium, the York family prioritized building this venue with sustainability in mind. Having a real grass playing surface requires a lot of water usage, which is why we focused on how to conserve our water usage. When the stadium opened in 2014, we became the first professional sports venue in the country with a dual-plumbing system, meaning both potable and recycled water is pumped into the facility. Over the lifetime of Levi’s Stadium, we’ve used about 120 million gallons of recycled water for irrigation, restrooms, and more — that’s enough to fill the entire stadium with water, and then some.” – Roger Elu, Levi’s Stadium Chief Engineer.
Levi’s Stadium Ribbon Cutting 2014
A: “Over the past 12 years, we’ve been fortunate to host some of the world’s biggest events, such as Super Bowl 50, a College Football Playoff National Championship Game, numerous global soccer matches, and Taylor Swift. When it comes to water usage, we are preparing for Super Bowl LX like we would prepare for any other world-class event.” – Roger Elu, Levi’s Stadium Chief Engineer.
A: “For Super Bowl LX, the 49ers are partnering with the NFL and PepsiCo to feature reusable cups in concessions. These cups will be available to 4,000+ seats for use and return, before they are collected and sanitized for reuse. This follows a pilot program held at Levi’s Stadium all season, in which 32,400 cups were reused.” – Cameron Lacson, Levi’s Stadium Director of Facilities.
The San Francisco 49ers implemented reusable cups with long-time partner PepsiCo at Levi’s® Stadium
Levi’s Stadium proves that hosting one of the world’s biggest sporting events doesn’t have to come with massive water waste. From restrooms and concessions to field maintenance and cleanup, water is embedded into nearly every part of the game-day experience.
Want to learn more about how onsite water reuse systems can transform your project? Read more here.
