State of California
The California Natural Resources Agency
DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES
2015 Annual Sustainability Report
August 2016
Edmund G. Brown Jr. / John Laird / Mark W. CowinGovernor / Secretary for Natural Resources / Director
State of California / Natural Resources Agency / Department of Water Resources
State of California
The California Natural Resources Agency
DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES
2015 Annual Sustainability Report
August 2015
Edmund G. Brown Jr. / John Laird / Mark W. CowinGovernor / Secretary for Natural Resources / Director
State of California / Natural Resources Agency / Department of Water Resources
If you need this publication in an alternate form, contact the Public Affairs Office, 1-800-272-8869.
2015 Annual Sustainability Report
Foreword
The Department of Water Resources (DWR) is pleased to present its sixth annual Sustainability Report. This report continues DWR’s reporting begun in 2011, and adds new sections as DWR continues to expand its Sustainability efforts. DWR’s Sustainability effort recognizes the importance of sustainability concepts in its own daily operations and in fulfilling its mission to the people of the state of California. In recognition of the importance of sustainability, the Director issued the department’s first sustainability policy on April 22, 2010, in conjunction with DWR’s recognition of Earth Day. The two-page policy memo (Appendix A) declared DWR’s resolve to become a sustainability leader, stating that “sustainability must be integrated into every aspect of DWR’s work.” In response to this directive, DWR has begun instituting a series of key steps to implement sustainable practices and will continue to contribute to a more sustainable future for California. DWR invites all employees to become engaged in learning about sustainability concepts and how to apply these concepts in the workplace and in daily life. This report is part of the on-going effort of helping DWR employees and the public understand sustainability and helps document the sustainability efforts at DWR.
The following goals are being integrated and coordinated as part of the current sustainability efforts for DWR:
- Climate protection practices,
- Ecosystem stewardship,
- Sustainable business operations,
- Greening facilities,
- Greening fleets,
- Recycling and waste management and
- Environmentally preferable procurement.
Additionally, six specific objectives have been established:
- Reduce water use by 20% by 2020.
- Reduce grid based retail energy demand by 20% by 2015.
- Reduce carbon by 50% of 1990 levels by 2020 and 80% of 1990 levels by 2050.
- Achieve waste diversion of 50% by 2020.
- Reuse waste water wherever feasible.
- Achieve renewable energy of 360 GWh by 2020.
DWR added the use of the Envision rating tool for sustainable infrastructure as part of its 2013 efforts. The Envision Rating Tool is designed to evaluate the sustainability for all types of North American public infrastructure such as roads, bridges, pipelines, railways, dams, airports, landfills, water treatment systems and more.
DWR has approved the use of Envision to help implement DWR's Sustainability policies and programs. Currently, Envision is taught as a 16 hour class at DWR in conjunction with DWR's project management class.
These goals and objectives are helping guide DWR efforts toward sustainability. The goals and objectives will continue to change and grow over time as DWR continually refines its operations and recognizes new opportunities to promote sustainable activities.
This report captures both the statutory and policy aspects of DWR sustainability activities as well as other significant DWR efforts toward sustainability in 2015.
Signed
Contents
Foreword iii
ACRONYMS xi
Executive Summary xiii
2015 Annual Sustainability Report 1
Goal – Sustainable Business Practices 1
Monitoring and Executive Oversight 1
Greening Facilities 1
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Standards - Green Building Initiative (Executive Order S-20-04) 2
Building Design and Construction 2
Building Commissioning (Cx) 2
Existing Buildings 2
Indoor Air Quality 2
Energy 3
Energy and Water Efficiency Special Unit 3
Information Technology Energy Efficiency 3
Retail Energy Efficiencies 4
On-Site renewable energy 6
State Water Project Energy Efficiencies 6
Zero Net Energy Buildings 7
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction 8
Procure Renewable Energy 8
The Lodi Energy Center and the State Water Project CO2 Emission Reduction 10
2015 Renewable Power Purchases 10
Financing 11
Greening Fleets-Transportation 11
DWR’s Fleet 12
Fuel Management Replacement Project 13
2015 Alternative Fuel Use/ Electric Vehicles 14
2015 Travel Reduction, Executive Order B-06-11 (4-26-2011) 15
Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Fleet Purchases 17
Remaining Transportation Challenges 18
Electric Vehicle Charging Stations – Employee Parking 18
Electric Vehicle Charging Stations – State – Owned Vehicles 18
Other Sustainable Transportation Efforts 19
Commuter Club 19
Sacramento Area Vehicle Pool 19
Bike Committee 20
BikeShare Program 21
Payroll Deduction—Monthly Transit Pass Pilot Program 22
Telework Program 22
Environmentally Preferred Procurement (EPP) 23
Recycling and Waste Reduction 24
Statutory and DWR Policy Requirement Activities 24
DWR’s Waste Reduction and Recycling Efforts 25
Office Supply Reuse Center 25
Waste Diversion and Recycling Coordinators 25
2015 Waste Diversion and Recycling Report 25
State Agency Buy Recycled Campaign 27
2014 State Agency Buy Recycled Campaign (SABRC) Report 28
Glass Products. 31
Lubricating Oil Products, Antifreeze, and Tires. 31
Tire-derived Products. 31
Metal Products. 31
Plastic Products. 32
Recycled Paint Products. 32
Paper Reduction Efforts - Documentum Project 32
Water Use Efficiency 33
Waste Water Reuse 35
Goal - Climate Protection 36
Reduce Greenhouse Gases 36
Climate Action Plan 36
Sustainability and Lodi Energy Center (LEC) 37
LEC has More Sustainable Water Use Practices 38
Additional Climate Protection Practices 39
Regional Climate Planning and Management 39
Flood Protection 39
Regional Flood Management Planning 41
Incorporating Climate Change into the 2017 Central Valley Flood Protection Plan 42
Improve Management and Decision-Making Capacity 42
Climate Change Analyses 43
Greenhouse Gas Offsets. 43
Goal - Environmental Stewardship 44
Sustainability Indicators California Water Plan 46
Sustainability Education and Awareness Efforts for DWR Employees 46
Sustainability Education 46
Envision 46
Introduction to Sustainability 47
Sustainability Collaboration Portals 47
Share Point Portal 47
LifeRay Portal 48
Climate Change Class 201 48
April Earth Day Activities 48
August is Climate Action Month 48
October is Low Car Use Month 49
November America Recycles Day 49
DWR Grant Programs for Sustainability 49
Local Groundwater Assistance Program 49
Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) Program 49
Urban Streams Restoration Program (USRP) 49
Agricultural Water Conservation Program 50
DWR Public Outreach Efforts for Sustainability 50
Collaboration on Recycling and Environmentally Preferred Purchasing Programs 50
Collaboration on Climate Change Efforts 50
Presentations 51
State wide Committees 51
Water-Energy Subgroup of the Governor’s Climate Action Team (“WETCAT”) 51
Collaboration on Water Conservation Programs 52
Appendix A DWR’s Sustainability Policy Memos 53
Appendix B A Drought Emergency Proclamation 55
Appendix C ZEV Infrastructure 59
Appendix D Statutory Requirements for Waste Reduction and Recycling 61
Appendix E Statutory Requirements for Environmentally Preferable Purchasing 63
Appendix F Statutory Requirements for the State Agency Buy Recycled Campaign 65
Appendix G Water Resources Engineering Bulletin 58 B 67
Appendix H California Statutory Requirements on Climate Change 71
Appendix I Climate Change Outreach Efforts 73
Complete List of Tables
Table 1. DWR/California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) Information Center Energy Savings 3
Table 2. DWR's Energy Efficiency Projects since 2012 4
Table 3. 2003 - 2015 Energy Reduction 4
Table 4. DWR's Solar Energy Locations and Energy Output 6
Table 5. State Water Project Annual Energy Portfolio of CO2 Emissions from 2009-2014. 6
Table 6. State Water Project Energy Efficiency and Emissions Reductions Plan; 2003-2020 7
Table 7. 2009-2014 State Water Project Total CO2 Emissions 8
Table 8. DWR's Renewable Energy Procurement Plan 9
Table 9. DWR's Proposed Renewable Energy Sites and Annual Electrical Production 10
Table 10. Alternative Fuel Stations in California 15
Table 11. DWR 2015 Alternative Fuel Use 15
Table 12. DWR Work Miles Traveled, 2010-2015 16
Table 13. DWR's Electric Vehicles and 2014/15 Mileage 17
Table 14. DWR's Hybrid Vehicles and 2014/15 Mileage 18
Table 15. DWR's Sacramento 2014 Vehicle Pool Miles Traveled 19
Table 16. Waste Reduction Amounts by Diversion Program and Activities 25
Table 17. 2010-2013 per Capita Disposal Rates and the Waste Diversion Percentage 27
Table 18. 2010-2014 State Agency Buy Recycled Campaign Amounts 28
Table 19. 2014 SABRC Dollars by Category 28
Table 20. File Types Change 2013-2009 33
Table 21. DWR Water Sources and Number of Facilities 34
Table 22. Percentage of Water Use Reduction, Baseline Year 2010/2013 34
Table 23. Central Valley Flood Protection 2012-2013 Funding Proposals 41
Table 24. IRWM Proposition 84 Grants that promote Environmental Stewardship 45
Complete List of Figures
Figure 1. A study in high contrast: the Sierra snow survey being conducted at the Phillips course on March 25m2013 (top) and April 1, 2015 with Governor Jerry Brown addressing reporters (bottom). xiv
Figure 2. Atmospheric River Reaching California, Dec.11, 2014. (NASA Visualization Studio, Cheng Zhang, July 30, 2015) xv
Figure 3. Comparison of April 2015 snowpack to normal averages. xvi
Figure 4. Normal view of trees in the Sierras, August 2015 (Carnegie Institution for Science) xvii
Figure 5. A topographic image of the Los Padres National Forest (Carnegie Institution for Science) xvii
Figure 6. DWR Energy Use Compared to a 2003 Baseline 5
Figure 7. Lodi Energy Center 10
Figure 8. Graph of Age of DWR Vehicles 12
Figure 9. Amount of Miles Traveled by Vehicle Age 13
Figure 10. DWR Amount and Fuel Type Usage by Year 14
Figure 11. DWR Work Miles Traveled, 2010-2015, All Categories 17
Figure 12. DWR's Sacramento 2014 Vehicle Pool Miles by Location 20
Figure 13. DWR Employees Riding the New BikeShare Bikes 21
Figure 14. 2010-2014 Graph of State Agency Buy Recycled Campaign Amount 30
Figure 15. DWR Water Use Reduction; baseline year 2010 34
Figure 16. DWR's GHGs Emissions Reduction Using a 1990 Total Emissions Baseline 37
Figure 17. Sustainability is built into the Lodi Energy Center 38
Figure 18. Central Valley Flood Protection Planning Areas 39
Figure 19. DWR Staff person demonstrates water/food nexus. 48
77
State of California
Edmund G. Brown Jr., Governor
California Natural Resources Agency
John Laird, Secretary for Natural Resources
Department of Water Resources
Mark W. Cowin, Director
Laura King Moon
Chief Deputy Director
Kasey Schimke Edward Wilson Cathy Crothers
Asst. Director Legislative Affairs Asst. Director Public Affairs Chief Counsel
Gary Bardini William Croyle Kathie Kishaba
Deputy Director Deputy Director Deputy Director
Integrated Water Management Statewide Emergency Preparedness Security Business Operations
John Pacheco Carl Torgersen
Acting Deputy Director Deputy Director
California Energy Resources Scheduling State Water Project
Prepared under the supervision of
Carl Torgersen
Prepared by
Mary Simmerer
Sustainability Coordinator
Editorial review, graphics, and report production
Research writers:
ACRONYMS
ADR / Automated Demand ResponseBSO / Business Services Office
CALGREEN / California Green Building Code (Title 24, Part 11)
CEC / California Energy Commission
CERS / California Energy Resources Scheduling Division
CNRA / California Natural Resources Agency
DFM / Division of Flood Management
DFS / Division of Fiscal Services
DGS / Department of General Services
DSIWM / Division of Statewide Integrated Water Management
DTS / Division of Technology Services
DWR / Department of Water Resources
EESPRFL / Energy Efficient State Property Revolving Fund Loan
EO / Executive Office or Executive Order
EPP / Environmentally Preferable Purchasing
ESPM / Energy Star Portfolio Manager
EUI / Energy Use Intensity (kBTU/sq. ft.)
EV / Electric Vehicle
EVSE / Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (charging equipment)
GHGe / Greenhouse Gas Emissions
IEQ / Indoor Environmental Quality
IOU / Investor Owned Utility
kBTU / Thousand British Thermal Units (unit of energy)
LEED / Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
LEED-EB / Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-Existing Buildings
MM / Management Memo
OBF / On-Bill Financing
O&M / Operations and Maintenance
PARO / Power and Risk Office
PG&E / Pacific Gas and Electric Company
PPA / Power Purchase Agreement
PV / Photovoltaic
SAM / State Administrative Manual
SCE / Southern Cal Edison
SCM / State Contracting Manual
SWP / State Water Project
SWPAO / State Water Project Analysis Office
VMT / Vehicle Miles Traveled
WEE / Water and Energy Efficiency
ZEV / Zero Emission Vehicle
ZNE / Zero Net Energy
77
2015 Annual Sustainability Report
Executive Summary
In 2015, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) was challenged as the fourth year of historic drought impacted all phases of DWR's work. The statewide snowpack on April 1 held only 5 percent of the average water content on that date in records dating to 1950. The previous low record of 25 percent of average was set in 1977 during one of California’s most significant droughts and was tied in 2014. Of the nine April 1 snowpack values below 50 percent of average since 1950, three have occurred in the past three years of drought.
Lower-than-average precipitation and record warm temperatures during the traditional winter wet season produced the diminished snowpack. According to the California Climate Tracker, the winter average minimum temperature for the Sierra Nevada region was 32.1 degrees Fahrenheit, the first time this value was above water’s freezing point in 120 years of record-keeping. The few winter storms of the past two years were warmer than average and tended to produce rain, not snow.
On April 1, 2015 Governor Brown issued EO B29-15. Key provisions included ordering the State Water Resources Control Board (Board) to impose restrictions to achieve a 25-percent reduction in potable urban water usage through February 28, 2016; directing the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) to lead a statewide initiative, in partnership with local agencies, to collectively replace 50 million square feet of lawns and ornamental turf with drought tolerant landscapes, and directing the California Energy Commission to implement a statewide appliance rebate program to provide monetary incentives for the replacement of inefficient household devices.
However, the water year (October 1 - March 31) of 2015 is not the driest in California history. Typically, about 40% of California’s precipitation comes from a weather phenomenon known as “atmospheric river” storm systems, vast stretches of precipitation arriving from the Pacific Ocean. A sequence of these storms in December and another in February provided most of this water year’s rain and snow.