SCV Water Board Embraces Sustainable Future
At a special meeting held on July 11, 2023, the SCV Water Board of Directors made a significant decision by adopting a comprehensive Sustainability Plan.
This plan encompasses an extensive evaluation of SCV Water's existing sustainability efforts, establishes a benchmark for measuring progress, and provides a roadmap for enhancing operational sustainability.
The implementation of the plan is set to commence in 2023 and continue until 2045, with regular updates scheduled every five years.
According to SCV Water Sustainability Manager Matt Dickens, the Sustainability Plan represents the culmination of collaborative work that builds upon the Green Team's initiatives within SCV Water to coordinate sustainability activities throughout the organisation. It leverages the sustainability initiatives of the State of California and aligns them with SCV Water's long-term planning objectives.
The plan encompasses various sustainability goals, greenhouse gas emissions targets, and specific action steps to achieve these targets.
It also aligns with the strategic planning efforts of the Agency, which include adopting environmentally sustainable business practices, actively managing natural resource usage, assessing SCV Water's carbon footprint, and implementing appropriate emissions reduction measures.
By adopting the Sustainability Plan, SCV Water aims to enhance its eligibility for state and federal grants and loans while evaluating its capital improvement and general operating programmes through a sustainability lens.
Dickens emphasises that implementing the plan will help SCV Water align with state initiatives and enhance the Agency's chances of securing funding. Additionally, it identifies pathways for SCV Water to improve energy efficiency and strive towards carbon neutrality in its operations over time while simultaneously addressing its impacts on climate change. Successfully achieving these goals aligns with the Agency's core mission of responsible water stewardship in the Santa Clarita Valley.
About the Sustainability Plan
The Sustainability Plan serves as a roadmap for implementing key sustainability initiatives within SCV Water. It will guide the planning and evaluation of investments in capital projects, water resources, and conservation efforts while also aligning the Agency with state initiatives and positioning it for funding that supports operational sustainability.
Given SCV Water's historical success in water conservation and projected conservation efforts, the plan plays a critical role in reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions to achieve sustainability and resilience.
The Sustainability Plan reinforces SCV Water's four core operational pillars: reliable and resilient operations, high-quality water and resource sustainability, cost-effectiveness and efficiency, and transparency and accountability.
This plan and its associated actions complement SCV Water's long-term and short-term planning endeavours, as well as existing sustainability strategies and ongoing water conservation programmes.
These include, but are not limited to, the Urban Water Management Plan, Groundwater Sustainability Plan, Water Supply Resiliency Plan, Water Shortage Contingency Plan, and Water Use Efficiency Strategic Plan.
The preparation of the plan began in 2021 and involved a public workshop in July 2022, followed by a 30-day public review process in April and May 2023 to gather input on priorities and ideas. The implementation of SCV Water's Sustainability Plan is scheduled to commence in 2023 and continue until 2045.
Source: SCV Water Board
