If you’re looking for a city committed to sustainability, it would be hard to find one more committed than Santa Monica, California. Since 1994 with the adoption of the first Sustainable City Plan, laws and programs enacted must meet the requirements of the city’s goals, with more recent aggressive goals being, “to achieve water self-sufficiency by 2020, zero waste production by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050.”[1] Toward that end, “all new construction, residential and commercial, must include rooftop solar systems and be “net zero” energy.”[2] New developments must also meet a “water neutrality ordinance that sets limits for water use based on the average usage of the site in the five years prior.”[3]
Recently, Santa Monica finished the Clean Beaches Initiative (CBI), a project with a price tag of $13.5 million that had the dual goals of “drought resiliency” and to “improve beach water quality.”[4] The CBI system is designed to treat 150 million gallons of water each year.[5] Additionally, the city has adopted a Sustainable Water Infrastructure Project (SWIPP) which has three parts. The first part of the project “will capture rainwater flowing off the downtown and divert it to a 1.6-million-gallon cistern located adjacent to the Pier. Salty groundwater found under and around the cistern will be added to the mix, and the blended water will be treated, and distributed for irrigation and toilet flushing in what is called a purple pipe system for non-potable uses.”[6] The second part of the project is a “storage tank [that will] harvest runoff from the Santa Monica Pier’s drainage basin, which covers 106 acres. The harvested runoff will then be diverted for treatment at the Santa Monica Urban Runoff Recycling Facility (SMURRF) and distributed for nonpotable uses. Overflows from the tank will be discharged into the sanitary sewer system.”[7] The third part of the project “consists of two new stormwater harvesting tanks at the city’s Memorial Park and the civic center lot, with a 4.5-million-gallon capacity.”[8]
Santa Monica prides itself on its forward-thinking mindset. In a state constantly faced with the question of how to sustain water supplies, “Santa Monica is actively seeking ways to absorb shocks that we know are coming as climate change progresses.”[9] Rick Valte, the city engineer states, “Santa Monica is always at the forefront…we hope what we do here is adopted by others.”[10]
[1] “Santa Monica Pushes Ahead to Meet Aggressive Infrastructure Sustainability Goals.” Engineer News-Record, September 13, 2018, https://www.enr.com/articles/45168-santa-monica-pushes-ahead-to-meet-aggressive-infrastructure-sustainability-goals.
[2] “Santa Monica Pushes Ahead to Meet Aggressive Infrastructure Sustainability Goals.” Engineer News-Record, September 13, 2018, https://www.enr.com/articles/45168-santa-monica-pushes-ahead-to-meet-aggressive-infrastructure-sustainability-goals.
[3] “Santa Monica Pushes Ahead to Meet Aggressive Infrastructure Sustainability Goals.” Engineer News-Record, September 13, 2018, https://www.enr.com/articles/45168-santa-monica-pushes-ahead-to-meet-aggressive-infrastructure-sustainability-goals.
[4] “Santa Monica Pushes Ahead to Meet Aggressive Infrastructure Sustainability Goals.” Engineer News-Record, September 13, 2018, https://www.enr.com/articles/45168-santa-monica-pushes-ahead-to-meet-aggressive-infrastructure-sustainability-goals.
[5] “Santa Monica Pushes Ahead to Meet Aggressive Infrastructure Sustainability Goals.” Engineer News-Record, September 13, 2018, https://www.enr.com/articles/45168-santa-monica-pushes-ahead-to-meet-aggressive-infrastructure-sustainability-goals.
[6]Basmajian, Andrew. “Santa Monica Draws Line in the Sand on Water Infrastructure Innovation.” Santamonica.gov – City of Santa Monica, 7 June 2018, https://www.santamonica.gov/blog/santa-monica-draws-line-in-the-sand-on-water-infrastructure-innovation
[7] Basmajian, Andrew. “Santa Monica Draws Line in the Sand on Water Infrastructure Innovation.” Santamonica.gov – City of Santa Monica, 7 June 2018, www.santamonica.gov/blog/santa-monica-draws-line-in-the-sand-on-water-infrastructure-innovation.
[8] “Santa Monica Pushes Ahead to Meet Aggressive Infrastructure Sustainability Goals.” Engineer News-Record, September 13, 2018, https://www.enr.com/articles/45168-santa-monica-pushes-ahead-to-meet-aggressive-infrastructure-sustainability-goals.
[9] Basmajian, Andrew. “Santa Monica Draws Line in the Sand on Water Infrastructure Innovation.” Santamonica.gov – City of Santa Monica, 7 June 2018, www.santamonica.gov/blog/santa-monica-draws-line-in-the-sand-on-water-infrastructure-innovation.
[10] “Santa Monica Pushes Ahead to Meet Aggressive Infrastructure Sustainability Goals.” Engineer News-Record, September 13, 2018, https://www.enr.com/articles/45168-santa-monica-pushes-ahead-to-meet-aggressive-infrastructure-sustainability-goals.
Photo Credit: Prayitno/Thank You For the (12 millions +) view, Flikr