WAT E R 2 0 1 8 S U S TA I N A BI L I T Y R E P O R T
AC K N OW L ED G EM EN T S
TA B L E O F C O N T EN T S
Building Services
1 F O R WA R D
Citylink
6
WAT E R E F F I C I E N CY
Edmond Electric
7
O K L A H O M A R A I N FA L L
Engineering
8
TO P F I V E A N D B OT TO M F I V E
Information Technology
9
EDMOND 50 YEAR PL AN
Marketing
1 1
M A N DATO R Y C O N S E R VAT I O N
Parks, Events, and Recreation
1 1
C O N S E R VAT I O N PA R T N E R
Planning Department
1 3
P R O D U C T I O N A N D T R E AT M E N T
Public Works
1 3
P R O D U C T I O N V S P O P U L AT I O N
Solid Waste
1 3
SUMMER VS WINTER
Urban Forestry
14
B I O S O L I D S A P P L I C AT I O N
Utility Customer Service
1 6
AWA R D W I N N I N G FAC I L I T Y
Vehicle Maintenance
2 0
S T O R M WAT E R Q UA L I T Y
Water Resources
2 1
O U T R E AC H AC T I V I T Y
2 3
M I TC H PA R K C O M M U N I T Y G A R D E N
Special Thanks
2 5
WAT E R Q U A L I T Y R E S TO R AT I O N
The University of Central Oklahoma
2 6
RAIN BARRELS AND COMPOSTING
and BBN Architects, Inc.
Perhaps the greatest challenge is to leave a world for our children that is better than it was before. The Edmond Greenprint | A Report to the City Council and the Residents of Edmond Green City Task Force, July 2003
F O R E WO R D Private and public stakeholders, elected officials, and city staff have worked together to make this community what it is today. Census numbers indicate the City of Edmond grew from a population of 68,315 to 81,405 from the year 2000 to 2010. The City’s population for 2020 is projected to reach 95,350. This reflects a 40% increase from the year 2000. As with any growing community, it’s necessary to make plans for accommodating urban growth, and to understand the consequences of our actions, or inaction, for future residents.
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The City of Edmond has proven it is a good
place to do business, has shown to be environmentally sensitive, and has been consistent as one of the most desirable places to live in the US. In 2018, Money Magazine in partnership with Realtor.com ranked Edmond number 36 as one of the best places to live. Today, the City of Edmond is building on the same conversations that made this City, incorporating ideas and concepts that will make the community stronger and more livable. Sustainable practices for the City of Edmond are derived from the following priorities. Rooted in our values and a science-based approach, our priorities are long-term, comprehensive, community-driven and action focused. The primary mission for the City of Edmond is to provide Trustworthy Service through Continuous Improvement. As a component of the City’s Internal Strategic Plan, City departments are asked every year to provide their goals and objectives regarding a variety of organizational priorities, including sustainability. Throughout the year, departments report updates on their goals to City Management. These priorities fall under the larger Organizational Priority of Environmental Stewardship.
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Protecting our natural resources
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Enhancing energy management
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Improving the built environment
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Maximizing waste reduction
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Balancing land use and transportation
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Promotion of economic development
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Providing alternatives for food security
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Improving City partnerships and outreach efforts
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Traditional planning processes will often focus on isolated places rather than interconnected systems. Having moved beyond traditional planning we are addressing social, economic and environmental challenges in a variety of ways. While this publication was written with city managers and staff in mind, we also wanted to communicate generally to the public about some of those activities. City Departments provide meaningful assessments to the City’s leaders. One of the functions of the Sustainability Office is to capture metrics that will help leaders make informed decisions about sustainability. Keeping dollars in the local economy, attracting new business, and improving the community’s quality of life are important objectives. Sustainable cities help achieve these objectives by 1 | Using energy more efficiently 2 | Buying and harnessing renewable energy 3 | Enhancing access to alternative transportation modes 4 | Recycling and reusing its waste 5 | Greening the community through landscape ordinances and tree plantings 6 | Making informed land management decisions 7 | Providing local food alternatives 8 | Empowering customers to be more sustainable through City programs 9 | Encouraging residents to buy local
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S T R AT EG I E S Strategies are based on the organizational priorities. For each Sustainability Strategy, whether it is observed implicitly, or stated directly, there is a defined Value, a quantitative or qualitative Goal, and a Measure that can be achieved to help determine future activities. In order to help determine strategies the City of Edmond has an informal Sustainability Committee, consisting of multiple City department staff. The Mission of Edmond’s Sustainability Committee is to provide leadership in researching and developing practices that emphasize efficiencies in energy use, renewable energy, operations, waste reduction, and natural resource protection through measurable performance criteria. This publication is in a Three-Part Series to illustrate important strategies the City has employed over the years. Some strategies will be represented by metrics the City of Edmond utilizes, and others will be highlights to describe more fully what a department or division does. Two additional highlights will be the University of Central Oklahoma, and the Coffee Creek Water Resource and Recovery Facility.
PART 1 | Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Recycling,
University of Central Oklahoma
PART 2 | Land Use Considerations and Urban Forestry,
Transportation, City Parks
PART 3 | Water and Wastewater, Water Resources
Recovery Facility, Stormwater Quality
The University of Central Oklahoma (UCO), a strategic partner for the City of Edmond, is included this year to demonstrate the full commitment by our two respective entities. We also want to acknowledge BBN Architects, Inc for its contribution to this year’s publication about an award-winning design for the new Coffee Creek Water Resource and Recovery Facility. The City is extremely grateful to UCO and BBC Architects for their contribution in this publication! We also want to acknowledge the unsung heroes, whether they are city staff, university personnel, or other residents, that make our City more sustainable every day by using less paper, turning off the lights, and other everyday activities that make a difference.
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S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y R E P O RT | 3
E N E R GY 2 0 1 8 S U S TA I N A BI L I T Y R E P O R T
LAND 2 0 1 8 S U S TA I N A BI L I T Y R E P O R T
WAT E R 2 0 1 8 S U S TA I N A BI L I T Y R E P O R T
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WAT ER EF F I C I EN CY As Edmond’s population grows, Edmond’s water usage also increases. This is a common thread throughout most cities in the United States. To help ensure that our water supply is utilized properly, while recognizing the value of water conservation, it’s an important goal of Edmond’s Water Resources Department to examine ways to reduce water demand. According to the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments, domestic well depths are trending deeper, but the deepest wells are getting shallower. This is due to more wells being drilled towards the edges of the aquifer in combination with drought conditions.
OK L A HOM A R A INFA L L
Heavy volumes of rainfall have recently helped to offset some of the need for landscape irrigation, and it may be difficult sometimes to remember that Oklahoma will again experience periods of drought. Drought conditions bring the prospect of long-term water capacity impacts to the region.
1900 | 1910 | 1920 | 1930 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010
A N N U A L P R E C I P I TAT I O N H I S T O R Y W I T H 5 -Y E A R T E N D E N C I E S O K L A H O M A S TAT E W I D E 1 8 9 5 – 2 0 1 8
Wetter Periods
7.
Drier Periods
TOP FIVE AND BOTTOM FIVE (F Y16 to F Y18) For the City of Edmond this metric is an analysis of water consumption by each department or and/or service provided by the City. A more detailed analysis is not provided in this document, but this indicator may be used to detect deficiencies, or areas for needed improvement. Several factors went into determining the top and bottom five performers between 2016 and 2018, including the number of years a facility has been in operation. Anomalies, such as spikes in usage, are not included in determining the top and bottom five. For a more complete list of City departments, contact the Planning Department at EdmondOK.com/Sustainability.
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T O P F I V E | D EC R E A S E D WAT E R C O N S U M P T I O N
65%
IT Building
63%
Police Support Facilities
41%
Downtown Community Center
40%
Animal Services
39% Vehicle Maintenance
The City’s water use for municipal operations went up in 2018. From 2016 to 2018 the City’s water consumption increased by 10.73%. Construction of a new Water Resource and Recovery Facility resulted in an anomaly where water usage spiked for those facilities. Other factors were the new Splash Pad, and increased irrigation for landscaping. These totals, particularly the City’s usage for Water/Wastewater facilities are expected to come down in future years.
B O T T O M F I V E | I N C R E A S E D WAT E R C O N S U M P T I O N
111% Irrigation– Landscape Services 62% Cross Timbers Administration Bldg. 29% Splash Pad 25% Planning and Public Works 18% City First Building
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ED M O N D 5 0 Y E A R P L A N Edmond’s 50-year water supply plan calls for “Level 1” and “Level 2” conservation options. Other similar options in the plan call for “stormwater beneficial reuse” and “non-potable” reuse. The average annual yield for Level 1 and Level 2 translates to 2,190,000,000 gallons; or 3,317 Olympic-sized swimming pools to be conserved as part of the overall strategy. By the year 2060, Level 1 conservation options were estimated to equate to approximately 1 million gallons per day (MGD) of indoor water use savings and 1 MGD of outdoor water use savings. Primarily, these options involve education and awareness, as well as better irrigation controls. According to the 50 year water supply plan, Level 2 conservation efforts will primarily involve future rebates offered by the City on water-saving devices.
Current goals for the Water Department are to reduce potable water demand, targeting landscape irrigation in the summer, while also encouraging community involvement in other water conservation measures.
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ED M O N D WAT ER C O N S ERVAT I O N Two ways in which the City is working toward its conservation goals are to implement the City’s Mandatory Water Conservation Plan (MWCP), aimed at conserving and controlling summer water use, and to reach out to partners, such as the OSU Extension Service, who helps the City coordinate outreach activities aimed at conservation.
Edmond participates in the regional water conservation plan in an agreement with Oklahoma City. The City of Edmond implemented this plan on May 6, 2013. The following table indicates the stages now followed by the City of Edmond, with Stage 1 being the least restrictive. Along with the City of Edmond, other participating cities include Norman, Moore, Piedmont, El Reno, Yukon, Mustang, Blanchard, and the Deer Creek water district.
Click here to see our Conservation University Move-In Day video.
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M A N DAT O RY WAT ER C O N S ERVAT I O N
City of Edmond’s
Based upon Oklahoma City’s Regional Plan
water conservation schedule stage type of residency
last number of address
calendar date/day
1. Mandatory Odd/Even Lawn Watering All Types (Effective year-round)
Odd Even
Odd Even
2. 2-Day a Week Lawn Watering Single-Family All Other Types
Odd Even -
Saturday & Wednesday Sunday & Thursday Tuesday & Friday
3. 1-Day a Week Lawn Watering Single-Family Multi-Family Commercial or Gov’t.
1 or 3 5, 7 or 9 0 or 2 4, 6 or 8 - -
Saturday Wednesday Sunday Thursday Tuesday Friday
4. Hand Water Gardens & Flower Beds Only, Commercial Car Washes with Water Recycling Operations Only. 5. Ban on All Outdoor Watering & Washing Vehicles
What stage are we currently in? Visit edmondwater.com/conservation or call 405.216.7775 to find out.
C O N S ERVAT I O N PA R T N ER The City of Edmond Water Resources Department has partnered with the OSU Cooperative Extension Service to develop educational outreach promoting outdoor water conservation. Beginning in April 2019 a series of FREE classes were provided on various outdoor water conservation topics. Additional classes are being held in 2020. Go to the City’s website under Water Conservation to find out more EdmondOK.com/Sustainability. These classes are also recorded and available on the City’s website.
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2 0 19 O U T D O O R WAT ER C O N S ERVAT I O N C L A S S E S D r o u g h t Re s is ta n t P l a n ts fo r O k l a h o m a - Drought resistant does not mean desert landscape! Oklahoma native and welladapted plants that require minimal or no supplemental watering are discussed. These are beautiful, drought resistant plants that thrive in Oklahoma. Ra i nwa te r H a r ve s ti n g - Rainwater can be collected and stored for watering plants in the garden. This class covers how to properly size and install a rain barrel to collect water from your roof. How to increase the storage capacity of an existing system is also discussed. Tu r f g ra s s M a i n te n a n c e a n d I rri g a ti o n - When should you fertilize? How much water does your turfgrass need? How long should you cut your grass? These questions and more are answered. H o m e I rri g a ti o n C h e c k u p - Smart Irrigation Month is an initiative to promote outdoor water use efficiency during peak summer demand. Outdoor water use makes up about 30% of overall water use in the United States, and up to 50% of this water is wasted. During this workshop you learn how to complete a simple home irrigation checkup to ensure your system is functioning efficiently. D e a l i n g w ith D if fi c u lt S h a d y A re a s - Shady areas can make it difficult to grow a healthy lawn, but there are many ways to find success in the shade. Common problems and solutions are addressed, as well as alternatives to traditional turfgrass. S m a r t I rri g a ti o n C h e c k u p - Smart irrigation technology can help homeowners to apply the right amount of water to their landscape and maximize system efficiency. The workshop discusses smart irrigation controllers, soil moisture sensors, rain/freeze sensors, and pressure reducing spray heads. C o m p o s ti n g - Compost is a natural, dark brown, humus-rich material formed from the decomposition or breakdown of organic materials such as leaves, grass clippings, and vegetable food scraps. Composting reduces the flow of material to the landfill and provides an excellent source of nutrients for your garden. Procedures for composting are discussed, along with options for establishing a compost container, bin, or pile.
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P R O D U C T I O N A N D T R E AT M EN T
WAT ER P R O D U C T I O N VS ED M O N D ’ S P O P U L AT I O N
Over the past 30 years, Edmond’s population has grown steadily by more than 85%. During this same time period our water production initially increased significantly, but in 2018 the city produced less water than in the year 2000.
1988
92
96
00
02
06
10
S U M M ER VS W I N T ER
Edmond’s water demand can be as low as 8.0 million gallons per day (MGD) in winter months. Water usage can increase to as high as 26.0 MGD on average summer months.
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BI O S O L I D S A P P L I CAT I O N Edmond’s Water Resources Department has also engaged for several years in the sustainable application of sludge from the Coffee Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant. The terms “sludge,” or biosolids, may be used interchangeably. Sludge is the biproduct of the wastewater treatment process. It is produced via an extended aeration process and is further treated in the Facultative Treatment Lagoons. The City utilizes agricultural reuse via land application for the biosolids disposal, where it is applied on cultivated land for wheat and grass. Each site is permitted through the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality.
T O TA L P O U N D S O F BI O S O L I D S A P P L I ED 5.0M
4.9
4.5M 4.0M 3.5M 2.9
3.0M
2.9 2.5
2.5M 2.1
2.2
2.1 1.8
2.0M 1.4
1.5M
1.1
1.2
1.0M .5M 0M
2008
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
FIVE POINTS 1 | This methodology meets or exceeds all Federal, State and local requirements for biosolids disposal; 2 | Suitable land application sites are available in the near vicinity of the Treatment Plant; 3 | Local farmers are amenable to agronomic biosolids reuse as a nutrient source and soil conditioner; 4 | Biosolids reuse has proven to be an environmentally sound practice; and 5 | The agronomic reuse of biosolids is a cost-effective methodology resulting in increased efficiency for the Treatment Plant, while providing a beneficial use for the biosolids. 14 .
N U M BER O F AC R E S W H ER E BI O S O L I D S A R E A P P L I ED 500 452
450 383
400 350
358
356
343
328
308 280
300 247
250
272
244
200 150 100 50 0
2008
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
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Biosolids provide a number of benefits including nutrient addition, improved soil structure, and water reuse. Landuse application of biosolids also can have economic and waste management benefits. – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
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AWA R D WINNING FAC I L I T Y In 2019 Edmond’s Coffee Creek Water Resource Recovery Facility was selected as a Bronze Project of the Year Award Winner by the American Public Works Association (APWA) OK. The facility was also awarded through the Water for 2060 Excellence Program. This award was developed from the Water for 2060 Act to recognize individuals and entities that make exceptional contributions to the promotion and implementation of water use efficiency and conservation of Oklahoma’s fresh-water resources.
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The Administration/Laboratory building is just part of the upgrades that have taken place at the Coffee Creek Water Resource Recovery Facility, but it is the most visible component. With the EPA forecasting nationwide water shortages in the next few years, the City wanted this facility to be a learning center and tool to communicate the importance of water reuse and conservation – a community asset that both demystifies the treatment process and delivers a compelling message about what the public can do to preserve this essential resource. The treatment plant has always been a popular tour destination for community organizations and schools. Since the building is the starting and end point for guided tours, the design team incorporated educational aspects into the design, including a large observation gallery situated between the labs and the core office area. This observation area allows expansive views of the lab and control room demonstrations and offers visitors direct access to a covered terrace overlooking the treatment plant. Planned future exhibits at the plant will include informational videos, an interactive 3D model, and possibly even virtual reality experiences. Guided tours have been and will continue to be an important part of the administration building’s function. The treatment plant occupies a site of approximately 60 acres adjacent to a major watershed, public park, and a large residential development across the street. A deep belt of mature trees along the two adjacent roadways provides an effective visual buffer. Preserving this regional urban forest was a key objective in the site design for the building. Early in the design process, the design team evaluated more than 175 desirable trees within the buffer area with a minimum trunk diameter of 8 inches. Each tree was identified, photographed, measured, and marked. Using GPS, the survey crew documented precise tree locations for inclusion in the topographical survey and civil engineering construction documents. The project manual included a technical specification for tree protection operations that was used throughout the construction phase. The City has a long-standing practice of making “value” decisions instead of “cost” decisions with their facilities. Through collaboration with the engineering, architectural, and construction management teams, the City made numerous decisions based on the value their customers would receive. In most cases this meant looking at equipment life cycle costs instead of focusing solely on capital costs. Not only does the design of the building convey a water conservation theme, the facility itself is a model of energy efficiency. The focal point of this commitment is the city’s first green roof installation.
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QUALITY VIEW
HIGH SOLAR REFLECTANCE ROOF
PHOTOVOTAIC PANELS LED AND DARK SKY LIGHTING
EV CHARGING
GEOTHERMAL GROUND SOURCE HEAT PUMPS GREEN ROOF
INSULATED WALLS AND ROOFS
NATIVE AND ADAPTED PLANTS
In this case, the term “green roof” is the literal truth, as the roof captures rainwater to irrigate native plants and garden spaces on the roof itself. The system also has an above-ground cistern to store rainwater for landscape irrigation. Generous exterior glazing, roof monitors, and interior glass partitions allow extensive daylighting of the building interior. Geothermal ground-source heat pumps, water efficient plumbing fixtures, native and adapted landscape plantings, LED lighting, occupancy sensors, electric vehicle charging stations and an array of photovoltaic panels are all important sustainable features that make this facility a “flagship” project.
PRIMARY ARCHITECS
Brent Bowman, AIA, LEED AP Lorie Bowman, AIA Austin Massoth, AIA, LEED GA Patrick Schaub, AIA, LEED AP Scott Bingham, ASLA, LEED AP
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“Through close collaboration with the City of Edmond, our team of architects took a simple, often neglected building type and reimagined it as a symbol of the city’s commitment to sustainability and water conservation education. It was a rare opportunity and a very rewarding experience for us all.” - BBN Architects, Inc.
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STOR M WATER Q UA L I T Y Water pollution issues gained national attention in the 1950s and ‘60s due to events like Ohio’s Cuyahoga River fires and publications like Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. These milestones helped jumpstart the environmental movement and the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Clean Water Act (CWA). The CWA established a new permitting program, the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) to focus on restoring America’s waterways.
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In response to the creation of the federal NPDES program, the state of Oklahoma formed the Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) to administer and enforce the NPDES program and assist communities across the state to comply with the permit requirements. Since 1999, like thousands of other communities across the nation, the City of Edmond’s Stormwater Quality (SWQ) Program has used a multipronged approach to meet the NPDES permit’s requirements, and to reduce the amount of stormwater pollution flowing into our local creeks and Arcadia Lake. Although SWQ is responsible for managing the NPDES permit for the City of Edmond, it is a City-wide permit and SWQ staff must monitor and report annually on metrics collected from multiple departments that implement Best Management Practices (BMPs) designed to reduce pollution from entering our waterways.
O U T R E AC H AC T I V I T Y Since education and outreach are key to fostering awareness of environmental issues, SWQ has worked diligently with the City’s Marketing Department since 2012 to develop a recognizable brand and logo that helps our residents immediately recognize who we are and easily identify what we do. At Edmond’s annual Open House event SWQ can be found at our recognizable tent. We also provide brochures, employee polos, hats, and giveaways complete with the identifiable logo and unique color scheme.
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STORM DRAIN MARKING PROGRAM Storm drains are commonly misused by the public for the disposal of waste such as paint, motor oil, antifreeze, pesticides and other pollutants, which can seriously damage water quality and the environment. To reduce the improper disposal of these types of pollutants, SWQ offers a neighborhood Storm Drain Marking Program, which provides volunteers with storm-drain markers that bear the simple message “No Dumping – Drains to Creek”. These self-adhesive markers are placed directly on storm drains in neighborhoods to serve as a visual reminder to residents that anything dumped in the storm drain has the potential to contaminate Edmond’s waterways. Past volunteers include church groups, boy scout troops, individual residents, and high school environmental clubs from Edmond North and Memorial High Schools.
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EN V I R O S CA P E P R E S EN TAT I O N S Every Spring, teachers from across Edmond request SWQ staff to visit their classrooms with our interactive water pollution model, Enviroscape. The model shows how everyday actions like fertilizing, lack of automobile maintenance, soil erosion, and illegal dumping can harm our waterways. To simulate the movement and effects of pollution in our waterways and lakes the students participate in an interactive activity where they add a variety of “pollutants” to the model with harmless food dyes and generate rainfall with spray water bottles.
WAT ER S H ED A P P In order to help promote watershed awareness, Stormwater Quality is working with Edmond’s IT Department to develop an online Watershed App, which will be available on Stormwater Quality’s Watershed Education webpage. A Beta version of this application has already been developed https:// gis.edmondok.com/stormwater. The application will be similar to other Edmond online GIS Mapping Applications. Residents can enter an address and the app will identify the watershed for that address. The watershed will be highlighted on the map and additional educational information about the watershed will also be provided. It is anticipated that a final version will be accessible to the public in 2020.
M I T C H PA R K C O M M U N I T Y G A R D EN The Edmond’s Parks & Recreation Department has contracted with Small Architects to continue working on a Community Garden design that began as a collaboration between Sustainability, SWQ staff, and OU graduate student, Subhashini Gamagedara. The new Community Garden, which will be located at Edmond’s Mitch Park, will be a public/private partnership with 90-100% of produce going to charitable organizations such as the Project 66 Food Bank. The garden will include wheelchair accessible garden beds, permeable walking surfaces, compost bins, a greenhouse with aquaponic features, cisterns, solar panels, and a teaching pavilion to provide outreach opportunities for educators.
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“Although our ongoing programs are invaluable, SWQ staff are constantly looking for opportunities to partner with other City departments or outside agencies to further our message and grow our program.� - Jordan Peebles, Water Quality Specialist
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WAT ER S H ED S I G N P R O J EC T In collaboration with Parks & Recreation, Marketing, Solid Waste, and the Oklahoma County Conservation District, SWQ staff are developing educational watershed signs that will be installed in multiple locations along Edmond’s extensive trail system. These signs will help foster awareness about watersheds, as well as educate the public on what they can do to help protect Edmond’s watersheds.
A R CA D I A L A K E T R A S H R ED U C T I O N I N I T I AT I V E In September 2018, a University of Central Oklahoma graduate student and City Management Intern, James Kentopp, and key City of Edmond personnel began discussing the possible implementation of large-scale litter traps on the two main waterways that discharge into Arcadia Lake, Spring Creek and the Deep Fork River, to capture floatable trash. Committee members began reaching out to potential partners at ACOG, USACE, OSU Extension Water Resources Center, ODEQ, City of Oklahoma City, and the Oklahoma County Conservation Commission to receive input on the project. At the time of this publication, Kentopp will have presented his Arcadia Lake capstone research project at the 2019 Oklahoma Clean Lakes and Watersheds Association Conference in Stillwater. It is anticipated that the development of this Arcadia Lake Trash Reduction Initiative will span several years due to the multiple entities involved, and opportunities to find new partners are ongoing.
ED M O N D P L A N 2 0 1 8 — WAT ER Q UA L I T Y R E S T O R AT I O N P L A N CAT EG O RY One effort that will set the stage for key improvements to the development process, including site design, is the work recently completed by Edmond’s Planning staff to update the Edmond Comprehensive Plan, a comprehensive guide to long-term growth. One feature of the Edmond Plan 2018 that resulted from the collaboration between Planning and Stormwater Quality is the addition of a new Water Quality Restoration Category surrounding Arcadia Lake. Although the Plan itself doesn’t have regulatory power, this new Plan Category sets the policy framework that Edmond may use to draft new ordinances related to water quality in the future. This document was approved by City Council on March 25th, with an effective date of April 24th, 2019.
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R A I N BA R R EL S A N D C O M P O S T I N G For the 4th year in a row, the City of Edmond hosted a Rain Barrel and Compost Bin Distribution Event in partnership with the Central Oklahoma Stormwater Alliance (COSWA) and Upcycle Products Inc. The event was held at the Cross Timbers facility on Saturday March 9th from 8-2pm. Although Drainage Utility hosted the event, multiple departments contributed to its success, including Edmond Electric, Marketing, Electric Central Warehouse, Public Works Admin, and Field Services. The event also benefitted from the hard work of volunteers from Drainage Utility, Building Services, Police, Legal Services, the City Manager’s Office, as well as the public. For the 2019 event, 76 rain barrels and 31 compost bins were purchased and distributed to the public. When combined with the totals from previous events, the City of Edmond has distributed 492 rain barrels and 154 compost bins since 2016. Our vendor and partner, Upcycle Products Inc. (based in Morris, Illinois), is the largest manufacturer of upcycled rain barrels in the United States. They are firm believers in “upcycling”,or repurposing a throwaway item into a product of greater utilization. The barrels used by Upcycle to create their rain barrels and compost bins were originally used to ship food from overseas to markets here in the USA. To food manufacturers, these barrels are scrap once the food has been removed, and in most cases are normally sent to a landfill.
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EDMOND DISTRIBUTED
492 154 RAIN BARRELS
AND
COMPOST BINS
SINC E
2016 27.
Upcycle’s efforts to intercept and repurpose these barrels prevented nearly 240,000 lbs, or 120 tons of plastic, from being dumped in landfills in 2016. The City of Edmond continues to be a proud partner of Upcycle Products Inc. and their efforts to encourage water conservation and reduce negative impacts to our environment.
R A I N BA R R EL & C O M P O S T BI N D I S T R I BU T I O N A M O U N T S Rain Barrels
Compost Bins
160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0
2016
2017
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2018
2019
WAT E R 2 0 18 S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y R E P O R T
WAT E R E F F I C I E N C Y P R O D U C T I O N A N D T R E AT M E N T S T O R M WAT E R Q U A L I T Y
P L A N N I N G D E P A R T M E N T | 4 0 5 . 3 5 9. 4 5 1 8 | E D M O N D O K . C O M / S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y COPYRIGHT © 2019 AL L RIGHTS RESERVED.
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