UCLA wins Water Efficiency Project of the Year | Sustainable LA Grand Challenge

March 01, 2017

Two men squatting near a device. — UCLA Facilities Management’s water efficiency project saves 28 million gallons annually. In the next few years, the total is expected to grow to 48 million gallons. Photo by Nurit Katz/UCLA

UCLA’s extensive water-saving program was recognized as Water Efficiency Project of the Year by the Los Angeles Better Buildings Challenge at the third annual Innovation Awards ceremony on Tuesday, February 28. The water reclamation program at UCLA conserves 28 million gallons of water every year and uses this water to cool the campus cogeneration plant that provides efficient power to the university. This marks the second time this year that UCLA’s water-saving program has garnered recognition for its work. Earlier this year, it was highlighted in the annual update to the Sustainable City pLAn, along with other UCLA and Sustainable LA Grand Challenge work. The pLAn recognized six of UCLA’s contributions in total, including the Renewables Roundtable hosted by Sustainable LA earlier this year, UCLA’s all-electric fleet of buses, UCLA’s involvement on the city’s sustainability leadership council, the Clean Energy Institute hosted by UCLA, and work in disaster relief by the UCLA Center for Public Health and Disasters. All of these projects are helping to advance LA to a sustainable future, and the water-saving program specifically supports the Sustainable LA Grand Challenge’s goal of transitioning Los Angeles to 100 percent locally-sourced water by the year 2050.