Page 54 - 2021 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 examined the water stress levels of
these communities, measured as a ratio of annual water water is also critical to our local
withdrawals to total available annual renewable supply. A communities.”
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

43 aggregates locations in areas 20 ready mixed concrete 1 cement plant located
in area classified as
as high water stress
high water stress
48 aggregates locations in areas 58 ready mixed concrete 1 cement plant in area
classified as extremely
as extremely high water stress
water stress
high water stress
Geographically, the majority of our locations classified as over time, these improvements still led to an estimated 20
high or extremely high water stress areas are primarily in percent drop in water usage per ton of stone produced or
Texas, Colorado and California. In those areas, responsible an annual savings of approximately 390 acre feet of water.
water use and recycling are critical, and we have made
significant efforts to reduce water waste, as described in the The water recovery system at Beckmann Quarry, installed
following examples. in 2010, continues to provide significant benefits and
reduced the facility’s water withdrawal by an average of
Over the past several years, Martin Marietta has invested in 50 percent compared to 2009. This equates to a pumping
water recovery equipment at Medina Rock & Rail Quarry, reduction of more than 20,000 acre-feet, resulting in
Beckmann Quarry, Chico Quarry, Black Spur’s Bird Hill billions of gallons of additional Edwards Aquifer water that
Plant and Hunter Stone Quarry, each located in Texas. For is available to South Central Texas communities for other
example, at our Medina Rock & Rail plant between 2018 beneficial uses.
and 2020 we completed a number of operational
improvements, including an on-site water recycling pond In 2020 and 2021, our Texas ready mix operations
as well as paving 4 miles of roadway. While the plant’s undertook initiatives designed to reduce water waste. In
production of washed products has increased dramatically particular, all but one of our North Texas plants have

52 2021 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT