Page 48 - 2020 Sustainability Report

ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP

Water and the Needs of Our Communities

Not only do we focus on ensuring that our discharges Institute’s Water Risk Atlas tool, known as Aqueduct. A
do not diminish the quality of local water resources, we profile of our building materials operations (which includes all
also are committed to being responsible users of the businesses other than Magnesia Specialties) is shown below:
available water in the communities in which we operate.
Martin Marietta’s production processes rely on water.
Importantly, we implement water management practices “Importantly, we implement
recognizing that clean and reliable water is also critical to water management practices
our local communities.
recognizing that clean and reliable
To this end, in 2020 we undertook to re-examine the
water stress levels of these communities, measured as a water is also critical to our local
ratio of annual water withdrawals to total available annual communities.”
renewable supply. A higher percentage indicates that there
are more water users competing for the water resource.
Areas with high water stress are those with a range of 40
percent to 80 percent and areas with extremely high water
stress are those greater than 80 percent. We analyzed our
operating locations by zip code, using the World Resources

42 aggregates locations in areas 18 ready mixed concrete 1 cement plant
located in
as high water stress
an area
28 aggregates locations in areas 32 ready mixed concrete high water
stress
as extremely high water stress
water stress

Geographically, the majority of our locations classified as improvements, including an on-site water recycling pond
high water stress are located in Texas; those classified as as well as paving 4 miles of roadway. While the plant’s
extremely high water stress areas are primarily in Texas and production of washed products has increased dramatically
Colorado. In those areas, responsible water use and over time, these improvements still led to an estimated 20
recycling are critical, and we have made significant efforts to percent drop in water usage per ton of stone produced or
reduce water waste, as described in the following examples. an annual savings of approximately 390 acre feet of water.

Texas The water recovery system at Beckmann Quarry, installed
in 2010, continues to provide significant benefits and
Over the past several years, Martin Marietta has invested in reduced the facility’s water withdrawal by an average of
water recovery equipment at Medina Rock & Rail Quarry, 50 percent compared to 2009. This equates to a pumping
Beckmann Quarry, Chico Quarry, Black Spur’s Bird Hill reduction of more than 20,000 acre-feet, resulting in
Plant and Hunter Stone Quarry, each located in Texas. For billions of gallons of additional Edwards Aquifer water that
example, at our Medina Rock & Rail plant between 2018 is available to South Central Texas communities for other
and 2020 we completed a number of operational beneficial uses.

46 2020 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT