Things are looking pretty green over at Cedars-Sinai where city leaders and officials with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power presented the Medical Center with a $155,355 rebate check for their efforts to reuse groundwater on Thursday.
"Los Angeles is changing how we think about water, by rewarding those who conserve," Mayor Eric Garcetti said. "At a moment when climate change and drought are becoming the new normal, the Cedars-Sinai treatment facility shows how property owners can help us better withstand the effects - through a strong commitment to conservation and sustainable design.”
Groundwater that runs under the area in West L.A. where the Cedars Sinai Medical Center is located must be diverted by the city to help maintain the structural integrity and safety of the buildings located on campus. Instead of allowing that groundwater be discharged into the sewer, officials with Cedars-Sinani decided to install a recycling system that reuses it.
The system provides up to 80 percent of the water used by Cedar-Sinai's cooling towers, offsetting the need to use drinking water, the LADWP said.
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"Cedars-Sinai is proudly committed to water conservation, and our Ground Water Re-Use System has taken this to a new level," Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer Richard B. Jacobs said. "Large institutions and companies have a vital role to play in the environmental health of our city, and we are so pleased to do our part. We look forward to working with Mayor Garcetti, LADWP and Metropolitan to advance this important agenda in the years ahead."
Cedar-Sinai Medical Center qualified for the rebate thanks to the Technical Assistance Program, which offers rebates for the installation of water saving projects and equipment needed for the system. Cedars-Sinai will also receive around $168,000 from the Metropolitan's Water Savings Incentive program.
"Metropolitan is looking for opportunities to save water everywhere, in homes, businesses, factories and farms,” said Brad Coffey, manager of Metropolitan's Water Resource Management Group. ``We have a host of incentives and rebates to help anyone who has an idea or project to use water more efficiently, from individuals who want to replace their grass with California native plants, to commercial facilities, like Cedars, that want to install innovative technologies.”
Photos: Kris Ankarlo