Final Report On Lausd Water Usage 10 22 09

Opportunities to Conserve Water in Los Angeles Schools

October 2009

2 Opportunities to Conserve Water in Los Angeles Schools October 2009 © Infrastructure Academy

Contents Contents ........................................................................................................................... 2 Our Water Crisis ................................................................................................................ 3 Summary of Project............................................................................................................ 4

Project Goals .................................................................................................................. 4 Scope of Work ................................................................................................................ 4 Project Staffing and Workflow .......................................................................................... 5

Summary of Findings .......................................................................................................... 7 Overall Water Usage and Cost ......................................................................................... 7 Indoor Water Fixtures ..................................................................................................... 8 Outdoor Irrigation Systems .............................................................................................10 Landscape .....................................................................................................................10 Management and Operations ..........................................................................................10 User Behavior ................................................................................................................11

Strategies to Reduce Water Usage ......................................................................................12 1. Replace outdated toilets and urinals ..........................................................................12 2. Centralize control of irrigation ..................................................................................13 3. Implement low-flow irrigation systems ......................................................................13 4. Replace turf or high water use plants with drought tolerant plants ..............................13 5. Assign responsibility to track water usage and manage water use down ......................14 6. Share water usage information with school sites and create incentives for campuses to decrease usage .............................................................................................................15 7. Optimize central irrigation system per each irrigation zone ..........................................15 8. Provide water conservation training to school and plant administrators ........................16 9. Launch an awareness and conservation campaign .....................................................16

Next Steps........................................................................................................................18 Implications Beyond the LAUSD .........................................................................................20 Generation Power, the Social Enterprise of the Infrastructure Academy .................................21 Acknowledgements ...........................................................................................................23 Appendices .......................................................................................................................24

Appendix 1: LADWP Water Conservation Rebates ............................................................24 Appendix 2: Estimated Labor Costs for New Toilets and Urinals ........................................26 Appendix 3: Schools Audited ..........................................................................................27


Our Water Crisis Southern California faces a severe water crisis. Supplies from its three external sources of water are all seriously constrained:

1. Eastern Sierra Nevada – The Eastern Sierra is producing less run-off due to lower snowfall over the last several years. In addition, court restrictions to address Owens Valley dust mitigation and Mono Lake renewal have limited the amount of water available for export to the City of Los Angeles.

2. Colorado River – The Colorado River basin is experiencing a seven year drought. Since 2000 due to high demand and lower rainfall than previous decades, the reservoir has lost 100 feet of elevation and decreased its storage from 96% to 43% of capacity. In 2008, the Scripps Institute of Oceanography issued a paper titled “When will Lake Mead go dry?” which set the odds of Lake Mead drying up by 2021 at 50-50. Water imports from the Colorado River to Southern California have decreased from 325,000 acre-feet per year in 2000 to 265,000 acre-feet in 2009 (note: an acre-foot is one acre of water one foot deep).

3. State Water Project – The State Water Project, which currently provides one third of the region’s water is also constrained due to court actions over environmental concerns (threats to the Delta Smelt). In addition, according to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the Delta is under threat from a weakened system of earth levees which could collapse in a major earthquake and lead to massive salt water intrusion into the Sacramento Bay Delta region. This could lead to a two-year delay before fresh water deliveries could be restored to Southern California.

While California has been experiencing less rainfall than in previous years, geological analysis suggests that the last century has been much wetter than the average precipitation for the region over the last several hundred years. Moreover, climate change will likely lead to

decreased rain and snowfall in California and decreased fresh water runoff. In comparison with other arid regions of the world (which also enjoy high standards of living), we use far more water per person. The bottom line is that we must learn to live in an arid region while consuming far less water.

Capacity of Major Reservoirs (January 2009)

Oroville Dam 27%

San Luis Reservoir 28%

Pine Flat Reservoir 16%

Lake Mead 48%

Diamond Valley Lake 51% Source: Metropolitan Water District presentation, August 17, 2009

Southern California

Water Reserve Levels


Summary of Project

Project Goals At the project inception in February 2009, Generation Power and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), which commissioned this study, set the following goals:

1. Conduct physical water audits of at least 120 LAUSD school campuses, including water fixture counts, analysis of makes and models of toilets, and analysis of irrigation controllers and field conditions.

2. Develop an ongoing technical and media force for water conservation and campus sustainability.

3. Develop the organizational, technical, and knowledge capacity to have a significant and ongoing impact on water usage within the LAUSD.

Scope of Work The project was divided into six deliverables:

1. Physical School Water Audits Field teams of six students, working under the direction of an adult supervisor, will deploy to campuses for a half-day audit per campus. Audits will include: Physical inventory and data recording of all indoor water fixtures including types of toilets, urinals, faucets, showers, and classroom lab faucets (excluding fire sprinkler heads and fire hydrants). Digital pictures of all water fixtures will be taken. Physical inventory of the sprinkler heads and irrigation control systems for all irrigated areas of the campus. Digital pictures of all irrigation control systems will be taken.

2. Quantitative Analysis of LAUSD Water Usage We will review water bills to track longitudinal water usage and costs across schools to develop useful metrics and cross-school comparisons to better design water conservation programs and water fixture maintenance and improvements for LAUSD campuses.

3. Google Earth and GIS Analysis We will develop a water usage database of a subset of LAUSD school campuses for use in Google Earth and GIS software to analyze all irrigable areas and buildings.

4. Development of Summary Report At the completion of the 120 audits, we will finish the project with the development of a summary report detailing all work done.

5. Water Education Trip All student water conservation specialists will visit Mono Lake for a week of environmental education to learn about the impact of water use and the need for water conservation measures. Students will return from this week with a deeper understanding of water issues and a heartfelt concern for water conservation.

6. Media Event Upon completion of 120 school audits, we will hold a press conference with the leadership of the City of Los Angeles, the LADWP, and the LAUSD to report the findings and acknowledge the work of the student water conservation specialists.


Project Staffing and Workflow Our team consisted of approximately 40 young people through the Spring and Summer and two adult leaders (approximately 1/3 of the team were legally adults but were inexperienced and ranged from 18-22 years of age). Michael Winters served as Interim General Manager and Carlos Barajas was the Field Manager. Four community college students served as field supervisors and data supervisors. Six team members were asked to serve as Crew Leads. The team was 40% female and most of the students were low-income and drawn from the Infrastructure Academy program sites. Twenty of the student-employees qualified for Workforce Investment Act (WIA) funding through the Los Angeles Conservation Corps, UCLA, or the Archdiocese. These funds of $1,500 per student-employee effectively raised the project budget by $30,000. The field crew consisted of 27 young people who were assigned to four teams (one in the spring and three in the summer). Each team would arrive to the Generation Power offices at the Metropolitan Water District (next to Union Station) at 6:30am for a morning briefing. Crews would return to the office by 3pm for dismissal. The data team, which consisted of 10 young people, worked a staggered schedule in the office. Over the course of the summer, employee attendance was very high and there were very few unexcused absences. Indoor (Restroom) Audits: Teams would depart by 6:45 with a list of five school sites they were to audit. Each team would arrive to a school site and meet with plant managers to obtain keys and school site maps. Restroom audit teams were subdivided into two person teams, a timer and a data recorder. Each two-person team would identify the make and model of the flush valve mechanism, count the number of toilets and sinks, photograph the restroom fixture layout and draw a diagram of the restroom. Once the inventory and the pictorial work was complete, the team would flush and time each of the toilets three times to evaluate time per flush. The field teams were able to complete five and eventually six, seven, and even a record of eight schools per day. Irrigation Audits: After all of the indoor (restroom) assessments were completed our irrigation phase began. There were three teams dedicated to irrigation. The irrigation teams evaluated sprinkler control systems and inventoried the time and day of week for outdoor irrigation per controller. These teams manually turned on each zone, flagged each sprinkler to identify the make and model of sprinkler heads and identified any

I never imagined that my first official job would be flushing toilets

and timing how long the water ran

for or running across football fields getting wet while trying to flag

sprinklers. But working for Generation Power during the

summer wasn’t as bad as it sounds.

I became an employee in July 2009 not knowing what to expect, not

only was I new to the company but I was lucky enough to become a

team leader which came with many other responsibilities. The first

couple of days were hard because

not only did I have to scarify myself to wake up at 4 in the morning

everyday but also had to learn how the company functioned. There was

a lot of filling out paperwork for

each restroom audit that was done and at first it all seemed so

complicated. As time went by it all became easy for me because not

only did I learn how the process worked but I also realized why being

a part of Generation Power was so

important.

I started realizing how much water was being wasted on every day of

school. I also got the opportunity to go camping with my co-workers

which was such a great experience.

Not only did I continue to learn more about the history of Mono

Lake but I also had the chance to bond with my co-workers.

Working for Generation Power this

summer was a great experience. Not only did I realize the importance

of water but it helped me grow as a

person.

Maricela Zurita

Generation Power Crew Lead

Orthopedic Medical Magnet


repair issues. The team also evaluated permeable soil conditions including excess run-off, dry areas, or extremely marshy areas. The field crews were able to complete 5-8 schools per day. Data Entry and Analysis: The data team would receive the data entry forms from the field team and would input the various data sheets into several data sets for each of the schools. Each data specialist was responsible for a complete school data set and would organize the file in a uniform manner. Photos were cataloged and all forms were cataloged into a physical and an electronic file format for subsequent review. The data management team would evaluate the data and then integrate it into separate centralized data sets. Periodically, the database was reviewed and evaluated for data anomalies and errors. Once the data was fully verified, various data reports and findings were made and progress reports developed for the clients’ review.


Summary of Findings Overall Water Usage and Cost

High Overall Water Usage in the Schools: The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is the largest landowner and water and energy customer in the City of Los Angeles. LAUSD water usage in 2008 was 2.6 billion gallons (7,979 acre feet) overall. LADWP water bills (for schools in the City of Los Angeles) reflect usage of 2.0 billion gallons, which is roughly equivalent to a football field of water over 6,000 feet tall! A Reducible Expense: LAUSD spends a significant amount of money on water. In 2008, the average monthly water bill for the district was $672,427. In addition, sewer bills cost the school district an additional $256,000 per month. Across 94 middle and high schools (for which we received water bills), the average monthly water bill in 2008 was $1,826 for a middle school and $3,235 for a high school. Unless the school district changes its infrastructure and the behavior of its water users, water bills will likely increase given the LADWP’s increase in rates and move to tiered billing. Reductions in water and sewer costs are “low hanging fruit” that could return funding to support instructional activities while preserving an increasingly scarce and vital natural resource. Per Student Costs: Water usage is predictably cyclical with the lowest demand in the winter and highest demand in the summer. On a per student basis middle schools consume more water. Interestingly, per student demand at middle schools has been increasing while high schools have been lowering their per student demand over time.


Indoor Water Fixtures Number of Toilets and Urinals We conducted physical inspections of 120 LAUSD schools within the City of Los Angeles. We focused on the largest campuses which we expected had the most opportunities for water savings.

Audited Schools # Schools

Total

Enrollment

Average

Enrollment # Toilets

Average #

Toilets/

School

Students

per

Toilet # Urinals

Average

Urinals

per

School

Students

per

Urinal

High School 57 134,605 2,403 4,746 83.3 28.4 2021 35.5 66.6

Middle School 63 109,582 1,739 3,913 62.1 28.0 1577 25.0 69.5

120 244,187 8,659 3,598

Extrapolating this data to the schools that we did not visit (and assuming that elementary schools have similar fixture ratios as middle schools) suggests that there are over 29,000 toilets and urinals. This does not include the many specialty schools including adult education centers, early education centers, SPAN schools, continuation schools, district offices, and so forth.

# Toilets # Urinals

Non-Audited Schools Estimated Estimated Estimated Estimated

Elementary School 520 297,316 10,617 4,279

Middle School 9 15,651 559 225

High Schools 13 31,239 1,082 469

Total 662 588,393 20,917 8,571

Inefficient indoor water fixtures: 120 high schools and middle schools were audited and 19,793 water fixtures (toilets, urinals, and sinks) were cataloged.

Toilets: Of the 8,585 toilets cataloged, 62% (5,333) are out of date and consume 3.5 gallons per flush (gpf) or more. This is more than 2 gallons more per flush than LAUSD’s current toilet specification for new construction of 1.28 gallons per flush.

Assuming the proportions remain constant for unaudited elementary, middle, and high schools, there are an additional 13,716 3.5 gpf toilets.


Urinals: Of the 3,428 urinals cataloged, 60% (2,056) consume 1.5 or more gallons per flush. An additional 39% (1,347) consume 1 gallon per flush; only 1% (25) are waterfree urinals.

Extrapolating the percentages out for for unaudited elementary, middle, and high schools, there are an additional 3,724 1.5+ gpf urinals.

Long flush times: Toilet and urinal flush times are a function of local water pressure and the maintenance of the flushometer. Timings of toilets and urinals indicate that many of the rubber “diaphragms” and vacuums have worn out and need to be replaced and lead to significant additional wastage beyond the manufacturer’s specifications. Flush times are far beyond the targets of 6.5 seconds for a 1.5 gallon toilet and 4.5 seconds for a 1.0 gallon urinal.

#of

Fixtures

Seconds Per Flush Seconds Per Flush

Toilets Urinals

Target flush time = 6.5 seconds

Target flush time = 4.5 seconds


Clean Bathrooms: School restrooms are generally clean and well-maintained by school custodial staff. Restrooms are cleaned twice daily on most campuses.

Outdoor Irrigation Systems Schools Complying with Drought Regulations: Most schools are in compliance with LADWP drought regulations which specify outdoor irrigation timing. Water Irrigation Timing Not Optimized: Many irrigation systems have identical settings for all irrigation zones and are not optimized to the specific needs of each plot of land. Some areas are underwatered while others are overwatered. Control Over Outdoor Water Usage is Contested: One of the challenges we observed in managing outdoor irrigation is the decentralized irrigation controllers on each campus. At many high schools, the plant manager does not have control (or full control) of the watering of sports fields. Site gardeners and district staff are sometimes physically locked out of the irrigation control system by athletic coaches who overwater fields. In some cases, they have even replaced facilities’ padlocks with their own. Inconsistent Irrigation System Maintenance: Many schools face challenges with broken irrigation pipes, student/community vandalism to sprinkler heads, and damage to sprinkler heads from lawn mowers and vehicles. In addition, we occasionally found electrical wires which were cut within the irrigation controller area rendering them unusable, main and local valves which had been manually shut off, dysfunctional pumps, and inconsistent water pressure across the same school campuses.

Landscape Non-California Friendly Vegetation: While landscape audits were outside of the scope of this project, it was evident in our visits to many of the older campuses that many non-drought friendly plants are growing on campuses.

Management and Operations Prioritize Water Conservation: LAUSD Facilities has emphasized energy reductions but has not made a similar investment in water conservation. Although some LAUSD staff are clearly responsible for plumbing and maintenance of water fixtures (and were very supportive of this project), there is not yet a systematic effort to reduce water usage. Lack of Information about Water Consumption or Costs: LADWP water bills are not routinely analyzed and no one at a school site that we met had ever seen their schools’ water consumption. Note: LAUSD Facilities recently launched the Utility Shared Savings Program to address this situation and provide schools with incentives to conserve water and energy. Lack of Water Efficient Tools: While we did not formally audit cleaning processes, we often noticed school facilities staff washing areas with hoses rather than more efficient tools such as water brooms.


User Behavior Lack of Awareness of the Value of Water: In our many conversations with students, faculty, and staff, we found that most users were unaware of the severity of the water crisis and each individual’s need to conserve. For example, in our initial water audit at Roosevelt High School, we observed an enormous pool of water in the Gazebo area (that ranged in depth from a few inches to a foot) as submerged sprinklers ran for many hours. Students, teachers, and staff all noticed the water running but no one addressed the situation until our team intervened by working with the site maintenance staff to manually turn off the sprinklers.


Strategies to Reduce Water Usage Following is a summary of the opportunities for water savings that the district should consider implementing:

Indoor Water Fixtures

1. Replace outdated toilets and urinals Replacing toilets and urinals with high efficiency devices will provide significant water savings. LADWP estimates that every 3.5 gpf toilet that is replaced with a new 1.28 gpf toilet nets a .0425 acre foot savings. 1.5 gpf urinals can be replaced with 0.25 gpf, 0.125, or waterfree urinals for significant water savings. This project is expected to last one year of full-time work for a team of 7.4 journeymen plumbers and 7.4 maintenance workers. Water conservation incentives are available from the LADWP in the amount of $500 per urinal and $300 per toilet. Materials costs would be covered through LADWP incentives. Replacing the 5,333 toilets and 2,053 urinals identified across the 120 middle and high schools that participated in the study would save 231 acre feet each year and an additional amount in sewer costs. This would save over $300,000 annually in water and sewer costs. Thereafter, at existing water rates, the project will save the district $34,615 each year in reduced water and sewer costs. The project will breakeven four years after it is completed.

LAUSD Maintenance and Operations will have to determine whether to implement Ultra Low Flow or waterfree urinals. We encourage the district to consider waterfree urinals in those areas where they can be installed correctly and cost-effectively as they will never consume any additional water and have been successfully installed in many high-use facilities and other school districts.

Estimated Cost:

Materials cost: $1.6 million ($300 rebate * 5,333 toilets) for toilets $1,028,000 ($500 rebate * 2,056 urinals) for urinals

Labor cost (to be borne by LAUSD): $1,699,470 (see Appendix B: Estimated Time and Labor Costs to Install New Toilets and Urinals)

Action Steps:

Outline a retrofit plan based on replacing toilets and urinals at the highest consuming schools first

Negotiate agreements with equipment manufacturers, contractors, and labor to complete the work


Outdoor Irrigation Systems

2. Centralize control of irrigation We recommend the installation of a centralized irrigation system that is managed by central facilities staff or at the local district level. LAUSD Facilities recently began to scope out this program. West Basin Municipal Water District is willing to fund the audit and installation of centralized irrigation systems in the 110 schools in its service area. Estimated Cost: TBD, water rebates of $50 per station available Action Steps:

Identify high water use schools with significant irrigable area Conduct certified irrigation audits to assess water pressure,

irrigation zones, and settings for a centralized irrigation system

Select and install a centralized irrigation system Assign responsibility for district-level management

3. Implement low-flow irrigation systems Current sprinkler systems may overwater fields by pumping too much water too quickly. Implementation of low-flow sprinkler heads would reduce the amount of flow per second which could be more appropriate given the type of sedimentation. LADWP rebate incentives are available at $13 for rotors retrofit and $5 per sprinkler head retrofit. The district is also considering implementation of subsurface irrigation systems which would minimize evaporation and reduce damage to sprinklerheads. Estimated Cost: TBD, LADWP rebate incentives are available at $13 and $5 per sprinkler head depending on the type Action Steps:

Identify high water use schools with significant irrigation costs

Procure and install new sprinkler heads Apply for rebates

Landscape 4. Replace turf or high water use plants with drought tolerant plants Replacing high water use plants with California friendly plants (as have been planted in new school construction) would lower the water requirements of each campus. The State of California has encouraged and increasingly is requiring (AB 325, AB2717, and AB1881) the implementation of water efficient landscaping. The


City of Los Angeles is also promoting sustainable development practices which emphasize outdoor water conservation and drought-tolerant vegetation.

The next step would be to conduct school-specific landscape audits (starting with the highest water using campuses) and engage local school stakeholders in a plan to change the landscaping to more drought-friendly vegetation. Ideally, each school (beginning with the most water inefficient) would develop and implement a sustainable landscaping plan that addresses visual appearance, functionality, local water storage (water buckets and cisterns), and water usage. Additional incentives and partnerships may be available through the LADWP and the City of Los Angeles as well as non-profit organizations including Million Trees LA, Tree People, and the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Watershed Council. These projects present tremendous learning opportunities for students to engage in service learning activities and to engage local communities. Estimated Cost: Will vary greatly by school site, LADWP incentives available for turf removal at $1 per square foot of turf replaced with drought-tolerant landscaping, in-kind resources and labor available Action Steps:

Conduct landscape audits of schools with extensive irrigable area and landscaping

Develop school-specific plans to replace landscaping with school community input

Match plans with available funding sources and in-kind resources

Management 5. Assign responsibility to track water usage and manage water use down Identifying someone with responsibility to lower water usage while ensuring adequate service quality will be essential to making long-term progress. The district has an energy management unit which is also responsible for water but given the relatively low cost of water compared to energy, water receives far less attention. Yet, the potential for water and cost savings more than justifies allocation of a position. This individual would oversee the implementation of the recommendations in this document and continually prioritize the best opportunities to conserve water, apply for rebate funds, manage work, and save money. Estimated Cost: 0.5 FTE


Action Steps:

Define job description Identify and hire internal candidate for role

6. Share water usage information with school sites and create incentives for campuses to decrease usage Disseminating water usage and cost information to school sites on a monthly basis would likely result in decreased water usage as plant management staff and end users became aware of their consumption as well as targets to reduce usage. Moreover, creating incentives for schools and end users to decrease their water consumption would engage each school community in the task. Enabling schools to retain cost savings locally (which LAUSD Facilities Management has recently arranged through the Utilities Shared Savings Program) will provide a financial incentive for schools to decrease consumption. The development of contests and competitions could also engage students, teachers, and administrators by changing attitudes and behaviors that drive usage. An additional benefit is that these end users, particularly children, will bring their new expectations to hundreds of thousands of homes in Los Angeles.

Estimated Cost: TBD, ROI for water and energy reduction Action Steps:

Roll-out Utilities Shared Savings Program Develop process to regularly gather and process data Develop electronic channels to convey information to schools Manage ongoing process

7. Optimize central irrigation system per each irrigation zone Upon implementation of a central irrigation system, optimize outdoor irrigation by employing a field team to assess the condition of each plot periodically to ensure that each plot was watered a sufficient but not excessive amount. Multiple checks over the course of a year would be necessary to optimize the watering solution per irrigation zone. Estimated Cost: TBD Action Steps:

“Tune” settings over time with a field team based on frequent soil and vegetation checks


8. Provide water conservation training to school and plant administrators Educating school maintenance staff and plant administrators on the importance of water and opportunities to conserve water would likely have a huge impact as they have significant responsibility for how water is used and how to avoid gross wastage. Estimated Cost: TBD Action Steps:

Develop training program Offer training through existing maintenance channels

User Behavior

9. Launch an awareness and conservation campaign and contests about water usage to reduce end user (student, faculty, and staff) usage

Emphasizing the water shortage and the need to conserve can have a tremendous impact on user behavior. LADWP water restrictions and greater user awareness about water shortages led to a citywide 17% decrease in water usage in July 2009 compared to July 2008 without major infrastructural changes. The school district achieved an impressive 28% decline in water consumption over the same period. A campaign should focus more heavily on high water users, such as maintenance staff. Given that there are seven hundred thousand students in LAUSD, a student-oriented campaign, perhaps including competitions, would have the benefit of impacting hundreds of thousands of families as young people would bring home the messages of water conservation. Providing students with opportunities to create Public Service Announcements (PSAs), service learning opportunities, and public speaking would also help to develop student voice and communication skills which would be a positive instructional outcome and would deepen students’ appreciation for water as a scarce natural resource.

Estimated Cost: TBD Action Steps:

Identify funding source(s)

Solicit a proposal Track progress on a school by school basis



Next Steps Water conservation is a green jobs win-win situation:

LAUSD Facilities Management wins by reducing its costs by taking advantage of utility incentives and water savings over time

Labor wins through the creation of green jobs and the development of a pipeline of future talent interested in plumbing and related occupations

Students win through the creation of learning and training opportunities for careers in the green economy

The environment wins as nature gets to keep more water

Implementation of the strategies described in the next section will take years and will require an ongoing initiative and multiple programs. Most of the direct costs can be paid for by the water agencies or through reduced utilities costs. Indeed, many of these projects have relatively short payback periods and will generate significant cost savings over time. In this challenging fiscal environment, the district must take advantage of every opportunity to reduce costs. As mentioned in the project goals, Generation Power seeks to be an ongoing technical and media force for water conservation and campus sustainability and to develop the organizational, technical, and knowledge capacity to have a significant and ongoing impact on water usage. We recommend the district begin to implement the above recommendations by pursuing the following steps. Generation Power is eager to assist LAUSD, the LADWP, and others concerned with water conservation and we have identified opportunities that we could assist in reducing water usage. We offer a low-cost, dedicated field team and data analysis capacity and a passion for this work. We have developed detailed proposals in separate documents for the LAUSD and LADWP to consider.

1. Landscape Audits 70% of water use is spent outdoors and the LAUSD is the largest land owner with tremendous opportunity to reduce its water usage. Generation Power would like to conduct certified landscape audits using catch-cans to assess overall water usage through sprinklers and perform a vegetation survey. This work will be important to the implementation of a centralized irrigation system and can address the challenges of over- and under-watering different plots of land.

2. Water Conservation Program Management Although many of these projects have an immediate ROI, ensuring that they happen in a large, multi-site organization like LAUSD will require ongoing effort and leadership. Generation Power would like to provide program management to track water and energy data, publicize this information, develop campaigns and other incentives to reduce water usage, and conduct ongoing indoor and outdoor assessments. We would leverage our low-cost field workforce to continually gather data and disseminate information and our data center to gather information and analyze it for program design. Generation Power


would report into an individual within the district assigned the responsibility of reducing overall water usage.

3. Commencement of a program to replace toilets and urinals The 7,000 toilets and urinals represent an immediate opportunity for water savings, work for LAUSD Facilities staff, and an immediate payback. Generation Power would like to assist this major retrofit project through the development of a pre-apprenticeship program with the Plumber’s Union. Pre-apprentices would participate in classroom instruction in LAUSD schools and serve as helpers on the projects. The plumbers union, which would be intimately involved in the development and management of the program, would select the strongest pre-apprentices for entry into the union as apprentices. Creating a pre-apprenticeship program would connect this project work with an instructional and workforce development opportunity to benefit young people from Los Angeles.

4. Continual indoor assessment of pre-1970 schools and benchmarking of new schools to assess the lifespan of diaphragms Our audit of 120 schools have provided a thorough overview of all of the makes and models of water fixtures and irrigation systems and provide an outstanding baseline of information for plumbers to retrofit each of these devices without re-visiting all of the restrooms. Generation Power would like to continue these assessments through the elementary schools and the 21 middle and high schools that were not completed to ferret out all outstanding high use water fixtures. In addition, we would like to benchmark new schools to understand the water efficiency of toilets upon installation and performance over time to assess the lifespan of diaphragms.


Implications Beyond the LAUSD Access to fresh water is increasingly a global challenge. As populations grow and climates change, management of this most vital of resources will become ever more important. This is certainly true in Southern California and the Western United States. We believe that we must radically reduce current water consumption levels in order to create a sustainable life cycle in an arid region whose indigenous water supply could probably only support several hundred thousand people but which now is home to millions upon millions. Attitudes about water need to change radically as they already have in other arid regions of the world such as Australia and Israel. School districts and the public sector offer tremendous opportunity to reduce water consumption and promote water awareness to the public. Efforts to conserve water, particularly in Southern California and the Western states, must address changes to plumbing systems, infrastructure, and attitudes and beliefs about water.


Generation Power, the Social Enterprise of the Infrastructure Academy Generation Power is a social enterprise of the Infrastructure Academy, a non-profit organization dedicated to building a pipeline of diverse, well-qualified young people for the career opportunities of the green economy. Generation Power provides training and employment to young people to green their communities as they learn to perform valuable work and improve their work skills. Approximately 40 outstanding young people worked over 9,600 hours on this project from May – September 2009. They did an extraordinary job.

Field Teams Dallana Acosta David Marron Juan Adan Rogelio Martinez Maria Aparicio Dana Medina Jennifer Araque Victor Menjivar Mitzi Barroso, Salvador Osario Nelson Castillo Luis Ramirez Daniel Chagoya Irving Rodriguez Dante Chatman Daniel Romo David De La Torre Ingrid Salazar Moises Flores Osario Salvador Cinthia Gregorio Edgar Ulloa Claudia Gregorio Alejandro Vega Ken Lou Maricela Zurita Brenda Majano

Data Team

Felix Lu

Justin Bradshaw

Daisy Velasquez

Ryan Domingo

Grace Guzman

Lesley Nolasco

Ian Trainor

Maria Zurita

Supervisors Brian Duvardo Malcolm McLaren Jose Pineda

Management Cindy Alvarez, Operations Coordinator

Carlos Barajas, Field Manager Marcus Castain, CEO Michael Winters, Interim General Manager



Acknowledgements Completion of this project required the support of many people across several different organizations. We appreciate all of their help and look forward to working with them to begin implementing these recommendations to conserve water in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP): Thank you to former CEO and General Manager David Nahai and the Board of Commissioners for believing in the Infrastructure Academy and providing us with the resources to connect young people to green career opportunities. We appreciate the support of John Chen, Director of Customer Service, who supported this project and his water conservation team including Maria Sharma and Mark Gentili who worked with us to make it happen. Also, thank you to Heidi Bass, LADWP’s premier account manager responsible for LAUSD who provided ongoing enthusiastic support.

Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD): Thank you to the hard-working Maintenance and Operations staff who provided us with access to the schools and data. Special thank yous to Neil Gamble, Mike Brady, Greg Lewis, and Amber Allison. We also appreciate Robert Walton from Roosevelt High School who hosted our teams many times for training sessions. We also received tremendous support from plant managers, custodians, and other staff (too numerous to name) who every day do their best to provide students, teachers, and staff with schools that are safe, clean, and functional. We are also in awe of the never-ending support from J. Gonzalez whose steadfast commitment to marrying the environment with career and technical education has been invaluable.

Metropolitan Water District: We appreciate the support of the Metropolitan Water District and specifically to Gil Ivey, Fidencio Mares, and Margie Wheeler for providing us with office space and a home base for our young employees. Thank you also to Bill McDonnell who planted the seeds of this project in 2008 by encouraging us to explore water usage at the schools.

WIA Providers: We appreciate the Los Angeles Conservation Corps, UCLA Office of Instructional Development, Archdiocese Youth Employment, and the City of Los Angeles Community Development Department for providing Workforce Investment Act funding to some of our eligible young people.

Infrastructure Academy Staff: We appreciate the Infrastructure Academy team for providing invaluable teamwork and support for bringing this vision to reality. Thank you to the staff in the spring and summer of 2009: Cindy Alvarez, Marcus Castain, Elizabeth Guerrero, Jorge Madrid, and Acasia Wilson.


Appendices Appendix 1: LADWP Water Conservation Rebates



Appendix 2: Estimated Labor Costs for New Toilets and Urinals

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Appendix 3: Schools Audited

# School Name

Indoor Audit

Date Irrigation Completed Date

1 32nd/USC Per Art Magnet 7/27/09 09/03/09

2 Adams Middle School 7/30/09 08/20/09

3 Arleta High School 8/5/09 08/19/09

4 Arroyo Seco Museum Science 8/3/09 09/02/09

5 Audubon Middle School 8/3/09 09/01/09

6 Bancroft Middle School 7/17/09 08/11/09

7 Banning High School 7/31/09 08/12/09

8 Belmont High School 7/27/09 08/10/09

9 Berendo Middle School 5/15/09 08/10/09

10 Bethune Middle School 7/28/09 08/13/09

11 Bravo Medical Magnet 7/29/09 No areas available for irrigation

12 Burbank Middle Shool 7/30/09 09/05/09

13 Burroughs Middle School 8/3/09 08/11/09

14 Byrd Middle School 7/9/09 09/05/09

15 Canoga Park High School 5/19/09 08/21/09

16 Carver Middle School 7/28/09 08/21/09

17 Chatsworth HighSchool 7/14/09 08/20/09

18 Civitas 7/29/09 Part of Roybal L.C.

19 Cleveland High School 7/13/09 08/21/09

20 Clinton Middle School 7/27/09 08/12/09

21 Cochran Middle School 8/4/09 08/12/09

22 Columbus Middle School 8/4/09 08/27/09

23 Crenshaw High School 6/16/09 08/25/09

24 Dana Middle School 6/9/09 08/20/09

25 Dorsey High School 7/28/09 09/02/09

26 Downtown Business Magnet 7/29/09 No areas available for irrigation

27 Eagle Rock Jr/Sr High School 8/3/09 09/02/09

28 El Camino Real High School 7/20/09 08/25/09

29 El Sereno Middle School 5/21/09 06/29/09

30 Emerson Middle School 8/3/09 08/11/09

31 Fairfax High School 7/24/09 09/02/09

32 Foshay Learning Center 8/4/2009 08/25/09

33 Franklin High School 7/30/09 09/03/09

34 Fremont High School 7/31/09 09/02/09

35 Frost Middle School 7/10/09 08/19/09

36 Gardena High School 7/31/09 08/12/09

37 Gompers Middle School 8/4/09 08/13/09

38 Grant High School 5/12/09 06/23/09

39 Hale Middle School 7/15/09 08/26/09

40 Hamilton High School Complex 7/22/09 08/13/09

41 Harbor Teacher Prep Academy 7/30/09 No irrigation

42 Harte Prep Middle School 7/31/09 09/05/09

43 Henry Middle School 7/10/09 08/18/09

44 High Tech High School 8/4/09 09/05/09

45 Hollenbeck Middle School 5/15/09 08/10/09

46 Hollywood High School 7/21/09 08/31/09

47 Holmes Middle School 7/13/09 08/18/09


# School Name

Indoor Audit


48 Irving Middle School 7/17/09 08/07/09

49 Jefferson High School 7/23/09 09/02/09

50 Jordan High School 7/29/09 08/21/09

51 Kennedy High School 7/13/09 08/19/09

52 King Middle School 5/28/09 08/08/09

53 Laces Magnet 7/24/09 08/28/09

54 Lawrence Middle School 7/14/09 08/27/09

55 Le Conte Middle School 7/14/09 08/10/09

56 Liechty Middle School 7/27/09 08/13/09

57 Lincoln High School 7/30/09 09/02/09

58 Los Angeles Acad Middle School 7/28/09 08/19/09

59 Los Angeles Global Studies HS 7/27/09 No Irrigation

60 Los Angeles High School 7/24/09 08/31/09

61 Los Angeles High School for the Arts 7/28/09 Part of Belmont

62 Maclay Middle School 7/8/09 08/19/09

63 Madison Middle School 7/13/09 08/17/09

64 Mann Middle School 8/3/09 08/12/09

65 Manual Arts High School 7/28/09 07/31/09

66 Marina Del Rey Middle School 7/21/09 08/14/09

67 Mark Twain Middle School 7/20/09 08/12/09

68 Markham Middle School 7/29/09 08/13/09

69 Marshall High School 5/27/09 08/31/09

70 Mid City Magnet 8/3/09 08/11/09

71 Millikan Middle School 5/22/09 09/05/09

72 Monroe High School 7/10/09 08/20/09

73 Mt. Gleason Middle School 5/28/09 In fire storm

74 Muir Middle School 7/29/09 08/12/09

75 Mulholland Middle School 7/16/09 09/01/09

76 Narbonne High School 6/10/09 09/01/09

77 New Tech HS at Jefferson 7/23/09 Part of Jefferson

78 New Tech HS at Jordan 7/29/09 Part of Jordan

79 Nightingale Middle School 8/3/09 08/27/09

80 Noble Middle School 7/14/09 08/28/09

81 North Hollywood High School 5/14/09 06/22/09

82 North Ridge Acad High School 8/4/09 08/18/09

83 North Ridge Middle School 7/16/09 08/28/09

84 Olive Vista Middle School 7/9/09 08/18/09

85 Orthopaedic Hospital Magnet 7/27/09 08/06/09

86 Pacoima Middle School 7/8/09 08/07/09

87 Palms Middle School 7/20/09 08/13/09

88 Panorama High School 7/9/09 08/28/09

89 Poly Technic HighSchool 7/10/09 08/31/09

90 Porter Middle School 7/10/09 08/18/09

91 Portola Middle School 7/15/09 09/01/09

92 Reed Middle School 5/18/09 08/17/09

93 Revere Middle School 7/20/09 09/02/09

94 Roosevelt High School 5/11/09 06/18/09

95 Roybal Learning Center 8/5/09 No water to irrigation

96 S.O.C.E.S. Middle School 7/14/09 Under construction


# School Name

Indoor Audit


97 San Fernando High School 7/9/09 08/19/09

98 San Pedro High School 6/8/09 08/21/09

99 Santee Education Complex 7/21/09 08/26/09

100 Sepulveda Middle School 7/13/09 Under construction

101 Stevenson Middle School 7/29/09 08/10/09

102 Sun Valley Middle School 7/9/09 08/17/09

103 Sutter Middle School 5/22/09 08/26/09

104 Sylmar High School 7/8/09 08/18/09

105 Taft High School 7/20/09 08/27/09

106 University High School 7/22/09 09/01/09

107 Valley Alternative Magnet 8/4/09 08/22/09

108 Van Nuys High School 7/21/09 08/24/09

109 Van Nuys Middle School 7/16/09 09/02/09

110 Venice High School 7/22/09 08/26/09

111 Verdugo Hills High School 5/26/09 08/21/09

112 Virgil Middle School 7/17/09 08/06/09

113 Webster Middle School 7/20/09 08/11/09

114 West Adams Prep High School 5/13/09 06/30/09

115 Westchester High School 7/23/09 08/27/09

116 Westside Leadership Magnet 7/28/09 08/12/09

117 Wilmington Middle school 7/30/09 08/20/09

118 Wilson High School 5/20/09 09/03/09

119 Woodland Hills Academy 7/15/09 08/25/09

120 Wright Middle School 7/21/09 09/09/09

Technology

Final Report On Lausd Water Usage 10 22 09