Kennebec Water District Operations Center

When the Kennebec Water District (KWD) set out to build its new operations center, the company expressed two fundamental goals: create a combined space for its administration and maintenance staff and reduce its carbon footprint.

The Kennebec Water District, the first water district in the United States, is currently spread out over two buildings separated by the Kennebec River, including one that KWD has occupied since 1878. In addition to modernizing equipment and consolidating staff under one roof, the new, 21,000-square-foot building is designed to last 100 years.

The new operations center invests in long-term cost savings for the company and its customers by utilizing durable and green materials, such as alternative cementitious concrete, which utilizes slag to reduce embodied carbon from traditional cement.

The district also plans to utilize a future off-site solar array to help the facility become carbon-neutral by producing more energy than it consumes.

The building also features highly-efficient ground-source heat pumps and radiant floor heating in the maintenance bays.

Interior design features are inspired by the various states of water: liquid, gas, and ice (solid).