P-0097 - Water Conservation Policy for County Facilities

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February 6, 2006 MEMORANDUM • TO: Orange Count De artment Heads Y p FROM: John Link, County Manager SUBJECT: Enemy, Vehicle Fuel and Water Conservation As you know, Orange County has embarked on an initiative to conserve energy and water used at County buildings and facilities, and to conserve fuel used in the operation of County vehicles and equipment. This mission is part of the County's "Environmental Responsibility in County Government" goal. To begin work on this initiative, the County established an informal working group of interested staff that now has been formalized as the Energy Conservation Task Group to advise on and assist in development and implementation of this initiative. As the next step, I asked Personnel Director Elaine Holmes with Acting Public Works Director Wayne Fenton to develop recommended County policy on building energy, water and vehicle fuel conservation with the direction and assistance of the Energy Task Group. At the December Board of Commissioners' meetings, the Board adopted the recommended policies effective January 1, 2006. These cover: • Energy Conservation (Attachment 1), Vehicle Fuel Conservation (Attachment 2), and Water Conservation (Attachment 3). These policies include goals, responsibilities, standards for use, reporting and performance measures. They also provide for development of proposed conservation action plans and budget proposals as part of each year's annual budget process. To provide on-going support for this initiative, the County also has established an Energy Conservation Team led by Wayne Fenton and including Kevin Lindley, Engineering Specialist and Noah Ranells, Economic Development Coordinator, to assist with implementing the County's policies. While some changes to be made are beyond what can be accomplished by one employee or even an entire department, such as replacement of outdated equipment, many important things can be improved by small contributions of many individuals. We need the support and active participation of each County employee to report problems and to turn off energy and water consuming devices when not needed. And we need the support of each department head to help convey the importance of conservation within Orange County. During the coming weeks, the Energy Conservation Management Team, Public Works staff and • others will be working with departments individually to look for opportunities to save, and we are asking your assistance. The conservation team will be working building by building to identify conservation opportunities for each location, identifying associated costs, and providing