Do you know how much water is used in the manufacturing of a single car? According to Ford Motor Company they used 9.5 cubic meters in 2000 and one cubic meter is equal to 264.2 gallons of water. That means Ford used approximately 2,509 gallons of water per vehicle in 2000. That same year the company began their Global Water Management Initiative and the program, over a ten year span, has reduced Ford’s total “global water use by 62 percent, or 10.5 billion gallons. That's the equivalent of how much water 105,000 average American residences use annually, based on figures from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.” 

Ford announced today that their new goal is to reduce usage even further with a 30 percent per vehicle reduction globally by the 2015. This goal, if met, will take the 9.5 cubic meter measurement down to 3.5 or about 925 gallons of water. That would be a drastic and valuable reduction from 2009!

They installed biological water treatment systems, in China, India, and Mexico which have the ability "to make up to 65 percent of a plant's wastewater suitable for high-quality reuse elsewhere in the facility or for irrigation.” 

The Hermosillo Stamping and Assembly Plant, located in Mexico’s Sonoran Desert, has one of the treatment systems. The plant makes the Ford Fusion, Fusion Hybrid, and Lincoln MKZ. Ford said production doubled at Hermosillo between 2000 and 2010 and yet they were able reduce water usage at the plant by 40 percent at the same time.

Three plants in the United States and several European plants have implemented a dry-machining system. Minimum Quantity Lubrication machining eliminates the need for the traditional, yet wasteful, coolant/water mixture used on cutting tools by only misting the tip of a tool with a small amount of oil. It also eliminates the need to treat and dispose of the lubricant. Ford says, “For a typical 450,000-unit line, more than 280,000 gallons of water can be saved annually.”

By reusing water on-site, streamlining processes, and using new water tracking technologies Ford has been able to meet past reduction goals. This sets them up to try and reduce even further as they head into the new year.

Sue Cischke, group vice president of Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering said, "Water remains one of our top environmental priorities and our aggressive reduction target helps ensure continued focus on this critical resource.”