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| Department of Public Works News |
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WATER CONSERVATION EFFORTS IN BUILDING SYSTEMS & FLEET MANAGEMENT In an effort to reduce water usage and prepare for the new tiered billing structure beginning July 1, 2009, BSFMD has been working with PWP staff to identify high use facilities. BSFMD has been tracking water usage on a monthly basis for FY2009 to identify trends and patterns. PWP has agreed to provide five-year empirical data for all facilities. This will help us to determine whether usage is seasonal or user driven and develop strategies for reduction. The BSFMD plumbing shop has identified three key areas where modifications to existing plumbing infrastructure can be made immediately. Impacts are unknown at this time, but results could be substantial. Low Flow Shower Heads All shower heads have been fitted with low flow shower heads. This accounts for approximately 60 fixtures throughout the city. These are rated at 2.0 gallons per minute (gpm) opposed to the older type which ran as high as 5.0 gpm. Faucet Aerators Aerators have been installed on all sink faucets. Staff estimates it will replace approximately 300 of the existing aerators with latest aeration technology. The aerators are rated at 2.0 gpm which will be a reduction from 2.5 gpm currently installed on most city sinks. Approximately two thirds of the faucet aerators have been retrofitted. Waterless Urinals and Dual Position Flushometers As part of the BSFMD FY2010 preventative maintenance CIP, plumbers will install an additional 28 waterless urinals and seven two-position flushometers. Staff will continue tracking usage on an ongoing basis to quantify the impacts from these measures. WATER CONSERVATION EFFORTS IN PARKS AND NATURAL RESOURCES Staff in Parks and Natural Resources is working diligently to minimize water use throughout our park system and landscaped areas such as libraries and medians. Staff has cut water usage by approximately 10% YTD, as compared with last year at this time, and more than 30% since we were directed to cut water use by 25%, which was the end of October 2008. Our efforts have included making sure all new irrigation projects are water conserving, retrofitting existing irrigation systems with more efficient systems, eliminating non essential turf where possible and mulching planting areas to retain moisture. This included (with limited exception) having the water shut off during the months of December, January, February and March and significantly reduced watering schedules since that time. Once completed, the synthetic turf projects planned for Robinson Park and Villa Parke should represent additional water savings to the City. Irrigation Improvements Parks and Natural Resources has established a Citywide Irrigation Crew to prioritize and address irrigation problems throughout our areas of responsibility in a more efficient manner. The following areas utilizing Calsense controllers communicating with the central computer are operating on evapotranspiration data: City Hall, Victory, Vina Vieja, Gwinn, Hamilton, Allendale, Brookside, Area H, San Rafael, Oak Grove, Memorial, Robinson, La Pintoresca, Jefferson, Eaton Blanche, Grant, Sunnyslope and Central Park. This data allows the irrigation system to change the water schedule based on climate changes. The remaining areas will all be operating on weather based irrigation by the end of June. Spray heads that had been used to irrigate plantings at Central and Vina Vieja Parks were removed and replaced with bubblers. The Gamble House, the median at Washington and Glen, Hastings Ranch Library and sections of Washington Park were retrofitted with Rainbird Mini Rotors and MP Rotators, these heads make the overall system more efficient because they cut down on water loss due to misting and provide broader coverage. We installed Netafim Dripline Irrigation System that delivers water directly to the plant material with no overspray in the following newly renovated projects: City Hall, Fair Oaks Avenue median, Arroyo Parkway median, New York Drive median, South Lake Avenue median, and Arlington Garden . Drought Tolerant Plantings We developed a drought tolerant plant palate to be used for City planting projects. Drought tolerant landscape projects occurred at: Hahamongna Watershed Park in the areas of Johnson Field, Flintwash Bridge, and the access road towards the ropes course. Drought tolerant plantings can be seen at Arlington Garden, Victory Park, Villa Parke, Linda Vista Library, corner of Sunset and Mountain. Medians in Washington and Glen and medians in the Linda Vista neighborhood were planted with drought tolerant plantings with gravel edges to contain water within median. We also installed more than 1,000 California native plants into Washington Park. A project in collaboration with the City of Pasadena and the Pasadena Beautiful Foundation, in February 2009, added nine trees and over 375 drought-tolerant shrubs to Jackie Robison Center. The species chosen represent a few of the hundreds of species on the City’s water-wise plan palette. To increase water conservation, plants were hydro-zoned or grouped together based on their watering needs. In addition, Parks and Natural Resources staff retrofitted the existing spray irrigation with more efficient spray heads and incorporated additional water bubblers in areas that did not previously have irrigation. Construction of the restroom at McDonald Park was completed in the fall of 2008. A water wise bubbler irrigation system and drought tolerant plantings were included in the renovation project. The construction of the restroom at Jefferson Park allowed us to remove non-essential turf around the building and to fill that area in with mulch. Other Water Saving Measures Performed turf renovation during fall/winter season to use less water (turf did not work so well). We are currently watering all sports fields at 65-70% of ET and watering all other turf areas at 50-55%. These modifications coupled with the elimination of irrigation during the winter months have resulted in a 30% usage reduction form November and a 10% usage reduction YTD. The irrigation team was responsible for isolating and shutting down a large underground irrigation leak in Area H that was costing the City thousands of dollars in wasted water. Mulching projects have been conducted at: Singer, Memorial, Washington, Victory, Oak Grove, and Robinson parks and on the Sierra Madre Blvd. Strip. Mulch was used to retain moisture in and around shrub beds and tree wells, reducing evaporation and thus the amount of irrigation needed. Non-essential turf elimination projects were conducted at Holly Street where inefficient spray heads run by manual valves which were manually turned on and off by City staff were replaced with efficient bubblers located at the base of each Oak tree run by the Calsense irrigation timers. We also removed non-essential turf areas around the newly constructed McDonald and Jefferson Park restroom areas and at Memorial Park in the parkway on Holly St and at Victory Park around the Senior Center. As we continue to deal with the shortage of water and our location in an arid climate zone, staff is committed to incorporating these realities into our project design to insure the City provides clean attractive facilities. Last Updated 08/10/09 |
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