May is National Wetlands Month

This month marks the 23^rd anniversary of the American Wetlands Month.  

Wetlands play a vital role to the ecological, economic and social-wellbeing of communities.  Wetlands improve water quality, increase water storage and supply, reduce flood and storm risk and provide a critical habitat for plants, fish and wildlife.

Celebrate the American Wetlands month by:

• Volunteering with a local watershed or conservation group (or start your own if none exist in your area) to protect, restore, and monitor a local wetland or stream area. Check Surf Your Watershed for a watershed group near you.
• Working with a community group, youth group or school to identify a local wetland that could be restored to its natural condition.  
• Talking to your local government about steps they are taking to protect and restore wetlands in your area, and encourage action.
• Plant native vegetation in your yard and limit your use of fertilizers and pesticides which can pollute nearby waterways.

GBA's Johnson County Wetlands Mitigation Bank

Energy Efficiency

Energy conservation is a key factor in reducing the operating cost of a facility. Imagine cutting your energy bill by implementing simple tactics to lower energy use and slice spending. While this is not the first time energy efficiency and energy conservation have been at the forefront, time and time again, GBA’s Energy Audit team finds facilities that lack these solutions. For instance, do your facility lighting levels meeting IESNA standards? Have your HVAC systems been set properly? Even computer settings can have an impact on increased energy use.

Based on GBA’s experience conducting energy audits, our team has collected recent data from over 95 public-sector buildings spanning 3,000 to 405,900 square feet. We’ve seen all types of city, county and state facilities with mechanical systems encompassing chillers and boilers as well as simple split systems and roof top units. Building envelopes have ranged from metal building shells to concrete masonry units, and florescent and incandescent lighting was typically observe. As noted in the chart below, we have provided a list of fundamental energy conservation measures evaluated from these common facility types to aid in reducing your energy bill:

 

Energy Conservation Measure	Energy Conserved	Average Savings
Change temperature setpoints	81,597	$1,815
Implement computer sleep mode	612,300	$1,322
Remove lamps from fixtures and meet IESNA standards (Illuminating Engineering Society of North America)	38,170	$1,056
Replace T12 lamps with T8 lamps	20,710	$518
Turn off lights in unoccupied spaces	96,440	$2,158
Replace incandescent lamps with CFL	11,733	$372
Install daylight controls	541,050	$11,140
Implement night and weekend setbacks on programmable thermostats	261,724	$3,229
Install pipe insulation	111,474	$855
Install window shading	26,575	$430

*Values are the average savings from single building energy audits performed during the Resourceful Kansas program.

Start integrating these solutions at your facility to gain results that will pave the way towards a sustainable future. Not only will you pinch pennies, but many of these standards can be implemented at little to no cost. Visit www.energy.gov  to discover more tactics to target your energy efficiency and conservation needs.

If you serve as an operating leader in Kansas for a public utility, our team will be sharing these tips and more at the Kansas Municipal Utilities Conference May 8-9 in Wichita, Kansas. Learn more about this educational event at www.kmunet.org. 

We welcome your energy efficiency and conservation success stories - share your results with us in the comments!

Have fun visiting a GBA project this summer - Worlds & Oceans of Fun, Kansas City

Did you know that GBA has been providing on-call design services to Cedar Fair for the Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun theme parks since 1996? When Craig Rogge, former facility manager, came to work for us, the work came with him! Task orders range from minor building modifications to preparing for a new roller coaster and design-build improvements at Oceans of Fun.

In preparation for the 2013 season, the GBA Buildings group and site development teams have been part of a design-build effort to improve Oceans of Fun with the following:

• Updated main entrance
• Renovated bathhouse
• ADA compliant sidewalks and walkways
• Two new water slides
• An additional and a replacement filtration building to support the water park
• Locker rental building

Back in 2011, we were part of bringing “Greeter Snoopy” Plaza to Kansas City, by designing accommodations for:

• Picnic shelter and entertainment area
• Featured rides including a spinning tug boat, carousel, mini tea cup, balloon tower, speedway, and convoy

Other general assignments throughout the years have included:
 

• The Mamba
• Stormwater detention
• Design of BMPs to address water quality
• ADA compliant sidewalks and walkways
• NPEDS Permitting and Land Disturbance Plans for site modifications impacting more than 1 acre
• Site design for attractions such as roller coasters, water slides, haunted houses, food vending and customer cueing areas
• Private utility extensions
• Demolition plans
• Streamway geomorphology

Celebrating our Earth Today... and Every Day

Each year on April 22, we celebrate our Earth. At GBA, we believe Earth should be celebrated every day. With winter finally exiting and make way for spring, it's a great time to go outside and enjoy the Earth.

Here are a few ways to celebrate Earth Day:

1. Plant a tree
2. Plant some flowers native to your region
3. Create an organic vegetable garden
4. Conserve water with a rain barrel
5. Have a picnic in the park
6. Visit a nature center in your area
7. Participate in a neighborhood clean-up 
8. Recycle

The ideas can be enjoyed all year and we hope you celebrate Earth Day today and every day.

To find Earth Day events in your area, check out the EPA website.

Walking for Life

We have all been touched in some way by cancer. Our family members, friends, and co-workers have experienced the disease and we want to do our part to help find a cure. GBA has formed a team to participate in the Lenexa Relay for Life to raise money and awareness for the American Cancer Society.

 

On May 11, the team will take turns walking at Sar-Ko-Par Park. The event will take place from 2pm to 10pm. If you are interested in helping there are various opportunities to participate including:

• Join the team and walk on May 11
• Make a donation to the team
• Dedicate a Luminaria
• Show up to eat some BBQ made by GBA’s own Genuswine Brisket Authority team from 5 -7 (all proceeds will go to the American Cancer Society)
• Come cheer on the team any time from 2-10

We hope you will join in our efforts to end this disease. For more information about the event and the GBA team, please visit our team page.

Wind Energy Abuzz at University Environmental Conference

Community-scale wind will be on the forefront for the 63rd Annual Environmental Engineering Conference held at the University of Kansas. This presentation, featuring a case study of a 1MW wind turbine, will be provided courtesy of  Kurt Bookout, Director of Public Utilities for the City of El Dorado in conjunction with GBA’s Energy Studio Leader, Jennifer Gunby, PE, LEED AP. Participants will learn about the benefits of community-scale wind, elements to spearheading a successful project and the future of wind energy for the City of El Dorado.

The full day conference, hosted by the Continuing Education department and located on campus at Memorial Union, will commence on April 17. Following the keynote, attendees will have the opportunity to select from three tracks centering on sustainability. In addition to wind energy, air and waste management and nutrient control will be highlighted topics at the event.

Bookout and Gunby have worked in partnership since 2010 with the launch of a feasibility study to identify wind energy sources to power the El Dorado Wetlands and Water Reclamation Facility. With the installation of the 1MW wind turbine, the City is projected to see savings of $5-8 million over the next 20 years with a return on investment of six to eight years. This presentation will begin at 3:40 p.m. and will offer a unique insight on applications of community-scale wind.

GBA is heading to the Great Plains Waste Management Conference

For the past 57 years, professionals from across the country have converged upon LaVista, Neb. to learn about the newest trends, technologies and regulations in the water environment and solid waste management professions. The Great Plains Waste Management Conference includes more than 40 presentations, posters and tours.

Take a look at the schedule of events and be sure to attend as many as you can. Registration is still open.

In fact, make plans to stop at Waldo Margheim’s talk. He is presenting his paper “Private Service Lateral Rehabilitation Design Challenges: Johnson County Wastewater Nelson Pilot I/I Project.” Waldo, who is a GBA associate, will be speaking at 9 a.m., April 18 at the Embassy Suites. The lessons learned from this project will have national implications to how other municipalities will address I/I and rehabilitation issues.