SAN DIEGO, Feb. 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- This week, San
Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) was joined by San Diego County and water officials to unveil
its new water-wise landscaping project at Century Park, its
Kearny Mesa headquarters. The
newly-finished project is expected to save SDG&E over 4 million
gallons of water a year (a 40% reduction on campus), that's
equivalent to a swimming pool 40 feet deep, 200 feet wide and the
length of three football fields.
"Last year, Governor Jerry Brown
declared a state of emergency due to drought conditions and asked
Californians to voluntarily double their water conservation
efforts," said Michael Schneider,
vice president of operations support and chief environmental office
for SDG&E. "We took his call to action as an opportunity to not
only do our part to conserve water, but to look at it as a chance
to create a positive, sustainable change on our campus as a visible
leader in our community."
Previously, SDG&E's landscaping at Century Park was 71
percent turf that required irrigation and regular maintenance. In
keeping with SDG&E's goal of being a good environmental steward
and achieving efficiencies, the existing landscape was replaced
with drought-tolerant vegetation and xeriscape.
"SDG&E has shown the kind of leadership the San Diego region needs to continue increasing
water conservation during this historic drought," said Mark Weston, chair of the Board of Directors for
the San Diego County Water Authority. "I'm confident this project
will inspire other companies to rethink their landscapes and look
for ways to save every day, every way."
This project has really expanded beyond water conservation as
SDG&E looked for additional opportunities to support the health
and wellness of our employees. With the partnership, guidance and
incentives from the Metropolitan Water District, San Diego County
Water Authority and the City of San
Diego, SDG&E was able to incorporate a walking fitness
path for employees aimed at supporting health, wellness and safety,
all top priorities of SDG&E.
Through that partnership, SDG&E was also designated as the
newest (and largest) Live Well San Diego partner by the
County of San Diego.
"This new fitness trail promotes outdoor physical activity which
is a key part of the Live Well San Diego initiative," said
San Diego County Board of
Supervisors Chairman Bill Horn.
"SDG&E has partnered with the County of San Diego on many successful programs
including our annual Cool Zones and disaster preparedness. This
Live Well partnership is one more example of great teamwork."
Live Well San Diego involves partners in all sectors –
from government, to business, to schools, to faith-based and
community organizations – through a shared purpose. Working
together allows for planning and implementation of innovative and
creative projects to bring Live Well San Diego's vision of a
healthy, safe and thriving San Diego
County to life.
Long before this recent call for conservation, SDG&E has
been leading the way in sustainability by reducing its water usage
overall. Electric substations have already reduced water use by 76
percent, which has saved more than 200 million gallons of
irrigation water since 2004. Other employee-occupied facilities
have also been retrofitted and landscaping converted saving 28
million gallons of water since 2009.
SDG&E is committed to conducting our operations in a way
that preserves regional natural resources throughout our service
territory, and hopes to lead by example by implementing the same
environmentally friendly principles we share with customers.
SDG&E is a regulated public utility that provides safe and
reliable energy service to 3.4 million consumers through 1.4
million electric meters and 878,000 natural gas meters in
San Diego and southern
Orange counties. The utility's
area spans 4,100 square miles. SDG&E is committed to
creating ways to help customers save energy and money every
day. SDG&E is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), a
Fortune 500 energy services holding company based in San
Diego. Connect with SDG&E's Customer Contact Center at
800-411-7343, on Twitter (@SDGE) and Facebook.
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SOURCE San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E)