Specialty Minerals Inc. (SMI), a division of Minerals Technologies Inc., operates a facility in Adams, Massachusetts, that produces various limestone, lime, and calcium carbonate products. Specialty Minerals draws water from onsite wells for use in process and cooling operations. The Company reuses a portion of the cooling water in their processing operations to conserve water and minimize effluent. SMI treats the final water before discharging it to the Hoosic River, which is home to spawning populations of brown trout and other desirable fish.

During discussions with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and local environmental groups, Specialty Minerals learned of concerns about the thermal impacts of this water upon the Hoosic River. SMI initially considered installing cooling towers to reduce the water temperature. However, the cooling towers would have been energy-intensive, expensive, noisy and visually unappealing. 

While investigating alternatives to the cooling towers, Specialty Minerals learned that a nearby paper mill needed a source of clean, warm water. Further, SMI and the mill were connected by an unused historic canal. The canal allowed the mill to use a portion of the SMI water and provided natural cooling for the remaining water before it entered the Hoosic. Specialty Minerals teamed with the paper mill, the EPA, and the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MDFW) to evaluate the impact of using the canal and changing the SMI discharge location.  

The study proved that the canal was able to provide sufficient natural cooling to minimize the thermal impact on the Hoosic River without the use of energy-intensive cooling towers. In addition, the paper mill was able to use the water from the canal as a source of process water. This significantly reduced the amount of water the papermaker took from an aquifer. Discharging SMI water through the canal had numerous positive environmental impacts on the Hoosic River, the aquifer, and the local community.