Green California Summit Encourages Water Reduction
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Green industry professionals gathered at the Sacramento Convention Center April 7 and 8 for the Green California Summit and Exposition. The California drought was a hot topic of discussion in several presentations that showcased ways to reduce water.
Joe Fullerton, energy management coordinator, facilities planning, maintenance and operations for San Mateo County Community College District (SMCCCD), gave a presentation on how the district has reduced its usage. The district is made up of three colleges — Cañada College, College of San Mateo and Skyline College — which combined make up 1.7 million square feet of total space, encompass 144 acres of maintained landscape and serve 45,000 students.
In January 2014, Governor Brown called on Californians to voluntarily reduce their water use by 20 percent and said that mandatory restrictions could ensue. SMCCCD’s Chancellor Ron Galatolo responded to the governor’s proclamation by setting a 25 percent water-use reduction goal for the entire district. Fullerton said that the district has currently reduced its water usage by 22.7 percent across all three campuses.
The district started its water reduction plan by dividing its conservation efforts into four categories: landscape and irrigation, industrial process use, domestic and other. Fullerton said that 50 to 60 percent of the water usage at the three campuses is related to irrigation, 25 percent is related to industrial processing (heating and cooling) and the rest is related to bathrooms, lab use and even recreational activities such as a Slip ’N Slide used by an on-campus club.
The SMCCCD’s energy management focused on how to improve its irrigation water usage without completely doing away with campus amenities that attract students such as the green lawns and trees. One thing that helped was installing efficient water nozzles for the sprinkler systems. The nozzles were donated, and the district spent $18,000 on installation. The team also used water-based irrigation controllers.
Other operational improvements included more regularly putting covers on the pools, which take a lot of water to fill and evaporate easily. Custodians at the schools use green cleaning practices, and the bathrooms all have low-efficiency toilets. The team also decided to shut down fountains after hours, especially at night, and instituted metering to track the district’s water usage.
Fullerton added that the SMCCD is also considering geothermal energy. His goal is for a 40 percent reduction in water use in the next 18 months, but he constantly asks facility staff for ways to get to 50 percent — a goal SMCCCD just might meet.