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Cape Canaveral, FL – IAP employees won the Ames Sustainability Award for their work converting the NASA Ames Research Center’s golf course irrigation system from a system drawing on drinking water into one using reclaimed water.

The award, which recognizes outstanding achievement in advancing environmental sustainability, acknowledged a group of IAP employees, who were supported throughout the project by employees from NASA, the City of Sunnyvale, CA Wastewater Treatment Plant, and the Ames Exchange, which runs recreational facilities at the federal center.

The conversion will save between 35 and 42 million gallons of drinking water, also known as potable water, each year. Using reclaimed water, which is not safe to drink, has become increasing popular in irrigation systems around the world as greater efforts are made at preserving potable water.

An Executive Order aimed at making the federal government a sustainability role model requires NASA to reduce its water use by 26 percent before 2020. The millions of gallons saved by the golf course irrigation project add up to 11 to 13 percent of the Center’s yearly potable water use, accounting for half the savings goal on its own.

“We are proud of our team’s environmental efforts at Ames,” says IAP Project Manager Stan Nalley. “They worked around many obstacles demonstrating flexibility and ingenuity. Because of their efforts, the NASA Ames Research Center will not only save millions of gallons of increasingly scarce potable water, but also greatly reduce its irrigation water costs.”

This is just the latest of environmental awards for IAP’s team at Ames, with employees winning previously for an energy saving effort and the addition of a water-saving native plant garden.

IAP Worldwide Services, Inc. is a leading international contractor providing global mission support for commercial industries, the Department of Defense and other U.S. government agencies. The company operates in three lines of business: Global Operations and Logistics, Base Operations Support Services, and Professional and Technical Services.

IAP’s corporate headquarters is located in Cape Canaveral, Florida, and the company employs more than 7,000 people at more than 100 locations worldwide. IAP’s website can be accessed at www.iapws.com.