This Week’s Hot Topics
- Home water conservation program launched.
- Nov. 24 permitting public meeting agenda is available.
- Governing Board approves Solary Canal Project.
- Land purchase offers water storage potential, partnership with Volusia.
- District Governing Board elects 2009-2010 officers.
- New water conservation cost-share program information available.
- Watering restrictions changed Nov. 1 to one day per week.
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The District’s commitment to the environment
“Green” initiatives
Green printing
As an environmental regulatory agency, the St. Johns River Water Management District has always been concerned with being a good steward of the environment.
As a part of disseminating information about its work, the District produces and distributes numerous documents. District staff strive to disseminate much of this information in paperless formats, such as posting information on the District’s Web site and sending electronic documents through e-mail or on CDs. In the mid-1990s, the District began a paper reduction program and cut its internal paper use in half.
For more than a decade, the District has used recycled content papers and environmentally friendly products when such options have been available. Now that more people are focused on going “green,” additional environmentally friendly papers, inks and printing facilities are available and the District has raised its level of commitment to environmentally friendly printing practices.
Beginning in 2007, the District began seeking out printing companies who are Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified to print its outreach documents, and who provide papers through the Sustainable Forestry Initiative or who are members of the American Tree Farm System.
The FSC certification ensures that printing companies use Earth friendly inks (such as soy or vegetable-based inks), and limit or eliminate the use of chlorides in the printing process. The certification process includes a list of criteria to show that Earth friendly processes have been used to grow the trees that are processed into paper and then become printed materials. The certification includes an on-site audit of printing facilities and an annual audit. The District also seeks to use printing vendors who use renewable energy sources and are otherwise lowering the overall “carbon footprint” associated with printing.
The Sustainable Forestry Initiative promotes its belief in responsible environmental behavior co-existing with sound business. The program melds perpetual growing and harvesting of trees with the protection of wildlife, plants, soil, water and air quality. Key among its goals is that participants practice sustainable forestry on all the lands they manage and that they influence millions of additional acres through the training of loggers and foresters in best management practices. To become certified, participants must undergo a rigorous review of its operations by an audit firm that is accredited by either the American National Standards Institute or the Standards Council of Canada.
The American Tree Farm System’s mission is to promote the growing of renewable forest resources on private lands while protecting environmental benefits and increasing the public’s understanding of all benefits of productive forestry. Membership is voluntary. The certification process incorporates established standards and guidelines and properties must conform to the American Forest Foundation (AFF) standards of Sustainability for Forest Certification.
On this site, environmental benefits statements are posted for each of the outreach publications that have been printed under these groups’ certification processes. Look for the “green printing statement” on our publications order form.
Energy consumption
In July 2007, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist hosted a Global Climate Change Summit in Miami. His goal was to generate a discussion that would explore opportunities for advancing the global climate change agenda and adopt specific climate action plans.
The summit concluded with Gov. Crist signing an executive order that included provisions requiring state agencies and departments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: 10 percent from current levels by 2012, 25 percent lower than current levels by 2017, and 40 percent lower than current levels by 2025.
District staff began addressing energy efficiency more than a decade ago and support the governor’s mandate. Some of the steps already taken toward this effort include:
- Remodeled buildings (beginning 1985) to make better use of power consumption
- Replaced inefficient DX (direct expansion) air-conditioning units with air-cooled rotary chillers in the office buildings and DX units in service buildings
- Retrofitted all fluorescent lights at District headquarters with energy-efficient bulbs, earning the District a rebate from the area’s power company
- Replaced incandescent lighting at building exits with light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs that consume a fraction of the electricity used by traditional bulbs
- Installed a direct digital controls (DDC) system throughout its headquarters to shut down chillers, fans, pumps and hot water tanks when not in use and to regulate ventilation requirements as determined by a carbon dioxide sensor
- Set the DDC to adjust heating and cooling systems when buildings are not occupied
- Installed backup power generators to ensure the District can operate during commercial power outages (due to accidents or storms) and to allow the District to participate in its utility’s commercial load shedding program
As we look to the future and continue efforts to maximize energy efficiency, the District will be implementing information technology hardware that is not only designed for productivity, but also for energy savings. The Department of Information Resources’ team has built a cluster of four servers that replaced 20 existing servers with “virtualized” servers. The cluster saves power and reduces the heat generated in a specially ventilated and cooled computer room. In the first six months of use, the District cluster meant a savings of more than 43,000 pounds of carbon dixocide emissions; the equivalent of planting 98 trees or removing seven cars from the road. The District’s technology equipment is replaced on a rotating basis and as this equipment reaches the end of its productive cycle, the Information Resources team is replacing servers and desktop computers with new systems that consume less power.
District staff will continue conservation efforts to meet the governor’s goals.
Other initiatives
In other ways the combination of smaller adjustments can add up to big benefits for the environment and taxpayers. For example:
- The District has been integrating hybrids into its fleet of vehicles. Likewise, District staff are encouraged to carpool whenever possible when traveling on District business.
- Containers are placed throughout District offices where staff can recycle paper, cans and other materials. This recycling program has been in place for many years.
- Waterwise landscapes have been installed at District offices to showcase the use of Florida native or Florida friendly plants that can survive, once established, with little or no irrigation. Likewise, the District is experimenting with soil moisture sensors to help regulate when supplemental irrigation may be necessary.
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