Sustainability

Sweetwater Authority is committed to providing its core services while maintaining a balanced approach to human and environmental needs.

Sweetwater Authority (Authority) has developed and implemented a Sustainability Action Plan (SAP) which contains goals to reduce the environmental impacts associated with the Authority's operations and services. Authority employees implement numerous initiatives designed to achieve the SAP goals. A Green Team (of selected staff from each workgroup) tracks the status, cost, and savings related to these initiatives as a means of measuring progress towards the Authority's vision of becoming a sustainability leader.

Goals

Major goal areas of the SAP include:

• Sustainability Inventory
• Energy Use and Renewables
• Water Use
• Green Purchasing
• Waste Reduction
• Transportation

Major Accomplishments/Initiatives Implemented

• Installation of hydroelectric turbines at the Robert A. Perdue Water Treatment plant for alternative energy generation
• Replacement of lighting fixtures at three Authority facilities with energy-saving LED lighting
• Staff education via sustainability e-newsletters and on-boarding documents for new hires
• Waste segregation and recycling for all Authority offices
• Reduced water consumption at Authority facilities by replacing turf with water smart landscapes
• Replacement of some Authority gasoline engine passenger vehicles with electric hybrid vehicles
• Energy efficient solid state hard drive replacement for Authority computers
• Administration building landscape certified as a "Wildlife Habitat" through the City of Chula Vista Conservation Program
• Certified as a City of Chula Vista CLEAN business