Green California Summit Encourages Water Reduction

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Green industry professionals gathered at the Sacramento Convention Center April 7 and 8 for the Green California Summit and Exposition. The California drought was a hot topic of discussion in several presentations that showcased ways to reduce water.

Joe Fullerton, energy management coordinator, facilities planning, maintenance and operations for San Mateo County Community College District (SMCCCD), gave a presentation on how the district has reduced its usage. The district is made up of three colleges — Cañada College, College of San Mateo and Skyline College — which combined make up 1.7 million square feet of total space, encompass 144 acres of maintained landscape and serve 45,000 students.

In January 2014, Governor Brown called on Californians to voluntarily reduce their water use by 20 percent and said that mandatory restrictions could ensue. SMCCCD’s Chancellor Ron Galatolo responded to the governor’s proclamation by setting a 25 percent water-use reduction goal for the entire district. Fullerton said that the district has currently reduced its water usage by 22.7 percent across all three campuses.

The district started its water reduction plan by dividing its conservation efforts into four categories: landscape and irrigation, industrial process use, domestic and other. Fullerton said that 50 to 60 percent of the water usage at the three campuses is related to irrigation, 25 percent is related to industrial processing (heating and cooling) and the rest is related to bathrooms, lab use and even recreational activities such as a Slip ’N Slide used by an on-campus club.

The SMCCCD’s energy management focused on how to improve its irrigation water usage without completely doing away with campus amenities that attract students such as the green lawns and trees. One thing that helped was installing efficient water nozzles for the sprinkler systems. The nozzles were donated, and the district spent $18,000 on installation. The team also used water-based irrigation controllers.

Other operational improvements included more regularly putting covers on the pools, which take a lot of water to fill and evaporate easily. Custodians at the schools use green cleaning practices, and the bathrooms all have low-efficiency toilets. The team also decided to shut down fountains after hours, especially at night, and instituted metering to track the district’s water usage.

Fullerton added that the SMCCD is also considering geothermal energy. His goal is for a 40 percent reduction in water use in the next 18 months, but he constantly asks facility staff for ways to get to 50 percent — a goal SMCCCD just might meet.

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Three-Year Construction Project Completed

SAN MATEO, Calif. — A ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the end of a three-year construction project at the College of San Mateo campus, held after the completion of the new flagship building, the College Center.

The project was built by McCarthy Building Companies in a design-build partnership with Irvine, Calif.-based architecture firm LPA, Inc.

The 140,000-square foot building, located at the center of the remodeled campus, is the “hub of college life and serves as a central location for student services,” according to school officials.

Housed in the new building are the admissions, career services, counseling, transfer services and financial aid offices, among others.

In addition to administrative space, the building features a learning resource center, laboratories for the digital media program and classrooms capable of seating more than 120 students.

The center, which features outdoor terraces, also offers “stunning views” of the San Francisco Bay, according to school officials.

The facility was part of the San Mateo County Community College District’s overall $285 million construction program at the college, funded by San Mateo County voter-approved Measure A.

The $220 million design-build initiative, led by McCarthy, consisted of more than 60 acres of major site improvements such as infrastructure and landscaping, and the construction of two facilities.

The first building, the Allied Health and Wellness Building and Aquatics Center, an 88,000-square-foot, LEED-Gold certified facility designed by Kwan Henmi, was completed in April 2010.

Though initially aiming for LEED Silver certification, the second facility exceeded the district’s goal and is currently under review for LEED Gold certification.

After completion of the two facilities, a number of other contractors used the remaining $65 million to renovate eight existing buildings on the campus.

“Through an innovative and successfully collaborative design-build program spanning multiple projects, College of San Mateo was able to open its doors to both buildings months ahead of their respective schedules and present our students, faculty and the greater community with two exceptional facilities,” said Rick Bennett, the community college district’s executive director of construction planning.

The McCarthy team used a collaborative, multi-disciplinary approach to managing both jobs as a single design-build project to ensure minimal campus impact and create a consistent and integrated connection between the two buildings, firm officials said.

Bill Niemann, McCarthy project executive, said despite the accelerated building schedule, the project was completed with a perfect safety record.

“The design-build initiative at CSM, while large and complex, could not have gone any smoother,” he said.

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Green California Summit Encourages Water Reduction

Three-Year Construction Project Completed