Contact: Deirdre Cerkanowicz
Public Information Specialist
Berkeley Public Library
510-981-6123
EBMUD Certifies Berkeley Public Library’s Branch Libraries as WaterSmart!
Berkeley, CA July 7, 2015 – The City of Berkeley has long been serious about energy efficiency. A rigorous EBMUD audit of Claremont, North, South, and West Branch Libraries proved these locations are saving significant amounts of energy. Now, water efficiency is a big priority, and the Berkeley Public Library is meeting the drought head-on.
The serious California drought continues. Everyone needs to do his or her part to conserve water. The Berkeley Public Library’s Branch Improvement Program provided the citizen of Berkeley with state of the arts spaces for reading, relaxing and gathering. Just as importantly, all the branches were constructed with energy saving and sustainability in mind. Claremont, North, South, and West Branch Libraries recently participated in East Bay Municipal Utilities District’s (EBMUD) WaterSmart water efficiency program. Our branches met all of WaterSmart’s high standards!
The program is highly effective. In 2014, WaterSmart award winners, which include Berkeley Civic Center and Martin Luther King Jr. Park, had a combined water reduction of more than six million gallons. Since 2010, WaterSmart certification recipients have saved more than 100 million gallons annually.
The WaterSmart program requires that a facility be audited by EBMUD program staff for water use, assessing the flow rates of appliances, and looking for leaks and other signs of water waste, including irrigation schedules and equipment. Once the audit is completed, any corrective measures must be made prior to certification. In 2016, the City is enrolling more Berkeley municipal buildings in the program.
City staff will accept the awards at a ceremony at EBMUD’s Oakland headquarters in the fall. For information on the EBMUD WaterSmart program and ways to save water, visit www.EBMUD.com. For more information about the City of Berkeley’s water saving efforts, please contact Alice La Pierre, Energy Efficiency Coordinator, Energy@cityofberkeley.info.
Founded in 1893, the Berkeley Public Library has grown from a small reading room with 264 books, into a city-wide system with a five-story Central Library, four state of the art neighborhood branches, a Tool Lending Library and a Library on Wheels. For more information visit www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org or call 510-981-6195.
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