GREEN NEWS

Making Waves - Stormwater Management Update

Sac State's Sustainability Team just can't stay out of the news! In a previous issue, The FOCUS featured many of the new low-impact development projects, which includes bioretention planters, rain gardens and compost-amended bioswales that allow stormwater to infiltrate and recharge the groundwater used for campus irrigation.

These efforts have paid off, as the ambitious stormwater management effort has been named an Urban Development Project of the Year by the Sacramento section of American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)! ASCE hosted an awards dinner at the Crocker Art Museum, where Sacramento State, as well as 18 other organizations were awarded for their completion of outstanding projects.

"I was honored to review many applications for outstanding project awards, and I am proud to report that our Sacramento Section’s engineers are designing and constructing many projects with innovative technologies which are serving our community and making it safe and visible," said President of ASCE Louay Owaidat. Way to go Sustainability Team!

Sacramento State Receives Highest Sustainability Rating in the CSU

Earlier this year, Sacramento State earned a gold rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) from their Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Ratings Systems (STARS) program. With a total score of 72.18 out of 100, this places the University as the highest rated among the CSU system, and even surpasses our neighbors from UC Davis, UC Merced, UC Riverside, and UC Santa Barbara.

This score places Sacramento State only eight percent away from the only school which has a platinum rating. With gold, Sacramento State is one of only 650 other colleges and universities in the world to share this title.

To celebrate this accomplishment, The Sustainability Team reached out to not only campus communications, but state communications as well. Ryan Todd and Joey Martinez joined Capital Public Radio's Beth Ruyak for an in-depth interview in July that was broadcast on Sacramento's local National Public Ratio (NPR) station. If you wish to listen to the interview, including the challenges of creating a culture of sustainability, click here.

"I would like to thank everyone who assisted the Sustainability Team with this grueling eight-month process. The submission was a campus wide effort and the rating reflects all of our hard work," said Ryan Todd, sustainability manager.

Out of nearly 100 submissions in 2016, only 28 campuses received a gold rating. The gold rating will last for a period of three years. We have included both the certificate, and the official STARS report. Way to go Sustainability Team!

New Signs Communicate Benefits of Low Impact Development Projects

Spotted one of these around campus lately? Spanning from the northern campus grove to parking lot 10 at the south end of campus are 11 informational signs. These signed have been installed near many Low Impact Development (LID) stormwater management projects explaining their benefits to the local environment. These projects include bioretention planters, rain gardens, bioswales, and other features.

The signs are "a self-guided walking tour accessible through your smart phone," said Maureen Kerner, lecturer in the College of Engineering & Computer Science. "The signs around campus, in the general vicinity of the various devices, explain how each works, what it looks like subsurface, and the plants used. 

This project was largely funded by the State Water Resources Control Board’s Proposition 84 Stormwater Grant Program. In addition the project has been a collaborative effort between Sacramento State’s Office of Water Programs (OWP), Facilities Management, the City of Sacramento Department of Utilities, and other local organizations.

Interested in taking the tour yourself? From your smartphone, visit: www.owp.csus.edu/lid.

New LED Pathing Lights the Way

The Sustainability Team can add another checkmark to their project list with the completion of its LED lighting project near Tahoe Hall. Overall, this project will save 86% energy compared to the previous fixtures.

The project, finished in October, will save energy in two ways, as Energy & Utilities Analyst Nat Martin explains: "First, the new LED bollard are an energy efficient lighting source. Second, the new LED bollard, are bi-level. This means, when no activity is sensed, they drop to 50% lighting levels, then return to 100% lighting levels when activity is sensed."

The type of lights used, LED, are not just more energy efficient, but they also provide a better quality of light source in the area compared to the older lights they replaced. And due to the bi-level motion sensing nature of the light fixtures, the area becomes safer for those using nearby walkways. "If walking toward Tahoe Hall you can tell if there is activity, because the LEDs sense movement in the area, and the lights will go from 50% to 100% alerting everybody within sight of the building there is movement," concluded Nat.

The project may be expanded in the future, as finances allow.