Management Report on Public Works EMS Programs

Equipment Maintenance E3 Program

              Significant aspects that impact Equipment Maintenance include oil and filters collected from routine maintenance oil changes, vehicles using R12 in air conditioning systems and lead acid batteries. We have reduced the amount of oil we collect from oil changes by 23%. Oil filters collected during these evolutions were reduced by 40%.  These reductions were made possible by several fuel saving techniques including consolidating crews into the fewest amount of vehicles required to deliver required materials and personnel to the job site and methodically planning the repair routes out, to minimize the miles traveled, among others methods. We have reduced the number of vehicles in our fleet using R12 refrigerant for air conditioning to one vehicle. We have not been able to reduce our battery consumption however.  Even though technology is making leaps and bounds in the area of automotive and truck batteries nothing new has come to production.  The only option we currently available is to replace light truck and vehicle batteries with Absorbed Glass Matt (AGM) type batteries.  Currently these batteries are cost prohibitive over conventional batteries and have a mixed history concerning their lifespan when compared to conventional lead acid batteries.  

 Water Treatment Plant E-3 Program

The Water Treatment Plant was accepted in to the Department of Environmental Quality’s E-3 program beginning with calendar year 2009. Our two aspects that are currently being monitored are electrical consumption and filter wash usage.  We have reduced both aspects considerably. The reduction was achieved by reducing the lighting of florescent fixtures by delamping and eliminating ballasts from the fixtures not being used.  The boiler was shut down earlier in the year after freezing weather was typically over.  Another item monitored by the water treatment plant was water used to clean the filters. Filter washes have been reduced by 40%.  The reason there was a reduction in water use is directly related to a lower volume of water being treated, due to the fine efforts of the utility field crews to stop leaks in the city city water distribution system and reducing the frequency of backwashes. 

Traffic Engineering E2 Program

There was one significant aspect that Traffic Engineering tracked and reduced.  The project goal was to reduce electrical consumption by 5% within one year. Activities that enabled Traffic Engineering to get to where they are included evaluating all electrical bills and correcting the rate groups assigned to them and by replacing incandescent lamps with LED Technology. By tweaking the electrical bills into shape and changing lamps we were able to achieve a 34% reduction in power requirements. 

Utility field crew E2 Program

The aspect that is currently being monitored and tracked by the Utility Fiekd Crew is unaccounted water loss through leaking pipes in the water distribution system. In January and February of 2009 the City employed a Contractor to survey the entire water distribution system in Staunton to locate hidden underground leaks.  The resulting leak location identified 59 possible hidden leaks in mains, service lines, valves and fire hydrants.  These leaks never showed up on the surface so they were not readily identifiable as is the case with most surface water leaks. 

Refuse and Recycling E2 Program

The Refuse/Recycling and Facility Maintenance Departments were accepted as Environmental Enterprise (E2) participants in the Virginia Environmental Excellence Program (VEEP). We have made progress toward our objectives and are still actively working to complete our goals. 

The goal was to reduce the amount of petroleum products that might possibly leach into the groundwater supply caused by spills and leaks.  We have had a reduced amount of leaks and spills.  New recovery procedures and reporting criteria have been developed.  

Building Maintenance E2 Program

The goal that Building Maintenance selected was to reduce the amount of electricity required to operate city facilities through the use of energy-efficient bulbs and ballasts. We have completed retrofit of 9 facilities averaging a 73% reduction in the wattage required to illuminate them.   We have priced LED  technology for the 67 downtown street light poles, but cost to retrofit would be prohibitive.  As a result of this finding we have started a pilot program to retrofit downtown lighting using compact fluorescent lighting (CFL).   We have installed these CFLs in the Hardy Parking Lot, RMA Parking Lot and Mill Street.

Streets E2 Program

Street Division disposed of approximately 5000 cubic yards of leaf compost material, which for a number of years had been dumped and stored at the old Waste Water Treatment Plant site located on New Hope Rd. The existing compost material removed was recycled and used in various flower gardens through out the city and used as a soil amendment and mulch cover over inert material at the old Waste Water Treatment Plant site.  

The distribution of collected leaves will no longer be stored on city property.  A consortium of local farms and businesses within city limits have agreed to accept collected leaves to use for mulch cover and soil amendment. Statistical data is being tracked to calculate how many cubic yards of leaf waste are being collected, where the leaves are collected from and where the leaves are being distributed. This data is used as a strategy to reduce diesel and gas used during these operations. This effort also eliminates having to handle the material twice thereby saving man hours, fuel costs and also prevents potential leachate into Lewis Creek.  It also eliminates unnecessary trips to the land fill while serving the city of Staunton residents and/or businesses who want the material.

Click here to view a PowerPoint Presentation further discussing our environmental program.

* The above link requires MS PowerPoint viewer. Viewer can be downloaded from following link.