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Home My WebLink About8.c. Action Items & Issues List EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Utility Commission Meeting: October 25, 2021 AGENDA SECTION: AGENDA ITEM: Action Items / Issues List Executive Director’s Report PREPARED BY: Brian Erickson, P.E. City Engineer AGENDA NO. 8.c. ATTACHMENTS: None APPROVED BY: BLE RECOMMENDED ACTION: None, informational only BACKGROUND Utility Commissioners requested that staff provide updates on the following items for meetings going forward.  Smart Meter Update – Staff met with representatives for the water meter vendor to discuss the results of a radio propagation study in Rosemount. That study was performed to establish the number of antennas that would be need to move to an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system. After that an estimate for that installation as well as ongoing operation costs was provided. Included in this quote is annual service for the next 4 years. Next step will be to coordinate this potential change with the current utility billing software and discuss with Finance.  Tour of a Water Tower – Tour the tower occurred earlier this evening.  Water/Stormwater Rebate Update (quarterly) – See Item 6.a.  MCES WaterSense Excellence Award – Attached a press release from MCES announcing that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) award MCES with a 2021 WaterSense Excellence Award. Additional details are in the press release. C:\\Users\\jab\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\8.c. Action Items & Issues List_691066\\8.c. Action Items & Issues List.docx 10/20/21, 12:28 PM Metropolitan Council Environmental Services Wins 2021 WaterSense® Excellence Award https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MNORGMETC/bulletins/2f67c3d 1/2 Metropolitan Council Environmental Services Wins 2021 WaterSense® Excellence Award Metropolitan Council sent this bulletin at 10/08/2021 09:23 AM CDT Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page. Metropolitan Council Environmental Services Division Wins Prestigious 2021 WaterSense® Excellence Award The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has honored Metropolitan Council Environmental Services (MCES) with a 2021 WaterSense Excellence Award. The award recognizes MCES for dedication to helping consumers and businesses save water, despite the challenges and disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic. MCES provides wastewater collection and treatment services, and water supply and water quality planning for the seven-county Twin Cities region. The EPA recognized the agency’s 2020 water efficiency successes at the Oct. 7 WaterSmart Innovations Conference and Exposition in Las Vegas, along with 33 other utilities, manufacturers, builders, retailers, and other organizations that partner with WaterSense to promote water- efficient products, homes, and programs. WaterSense makes Perfect Sense WaterSense is a voluntary partnership program the EPA sponsors and is both a label for water-efficient products and homes, and a resource for helping consumers learn ways to save water. Since the program began in 2006, WaterSense-labeled products have helped consumers and businesses save 5.3 trillion gallons of water—enough water to supply all households in the United States with water for 200 days! In addition to water savings, WaterSense has helped reduce the amount of energy needed to heat, pump, and treat water by 603 billion kilowatt hours and save $108 billion in water and energy bills. “In 2020, our WaterSense partners continued to make saving water possible by educating consumers and businesses about WaterSense and water-efficient behaviors,” said Veronica Blette, the WaterSense program manager. “Our award winners’ creative and committed approaches to water conservation helped consumers save water, energy, and money on their utility bills at a time when they needed it most.” “We are pleased to be able to partner with the WaterSense program to help our customers learn the many ways they can save water and energy, as well as providing grants to help make important environmental investments and improvements,” said Leisa Thompson, MCES general manager. “These efforts help us in our mission to ensure sustainable water quality and water supply for the Twin Cities region.” Winning Programs WaterSense honored MCES as a 2021 Excellence Award winner for strategic collaboration. Among the collaborative programs housed in MCES’s Water Supply Planning group that are recognized by this award are: 2019-2022 Water Efficiency Grant Program: The program provides grants to 38 metro-area communities to fund the replacement of toilets, irrigation controllers, and spray sprinkler bodies with WaterSense- labeled products. Also, for irrigation audits by WaterSense-certified auditors and clothes washers with Energy Star devices, as designated by the Department of Energy. Minnesota’s Clean Water, Land & Legacy Amendment supports the program with funds totaling $787,100. MCES grants cover 75% of the program cost; each participating municipality provides the remaining 25% as a match. When local matching funds of $262,510 are added, a total of $1,049,610 is available for water- efficiency efforts. Subscribe to updates from Metropolitan Co Email Address e.g. name@e Subscribe Share Bulletin 10/20/21, 12:28 PM Metropolitan Council Environmental Services Wins 2021 WaterSense® Excellence Award https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MNORGMETC/bulletins/2f67c3d 2/2 Turfgrass Irrigation Efficiency Project: In cooperation with the University of Minnesota Turfgrass Science Program, MCES is funding a multi-year Turfgrass Irrigation Efficiency Project to increase the efficiency of water use for home lawns and landscapes. Site assessments, research, and demonstration projects focused on smart irrigation practices. Assessments of lawn irrigation systems were conducted at approximately 60 homes across the metro area, creating a “baseline” of irrigation system performance. The project team also conducted a homeowner survey of landscape irrigation practices. The project team also built an irrigation research station at the University of Minnesota Saint Paul campus, where they operate a prototype of a typical irrigation system, along with five additional high-efficiency irrigation systems. The system allows staff to calculate differences in water efficiencies. A “rainout shelter” at the site helps to conduct 60-day drought trials of 29 common grass seed mixtures. A growth chamber and field experiments help determine how the composition of grass-seed mixture species changes during droughts. Staff further conducted education and outreach at the Minnesota State Fair, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, and via a mobile educational trailer to showcase efficient irrigation technologies. These collaborative efforts help to put water-efficient practices into effect and WaterSense-labeled products in the field. For more information about WaterSense, visit www.epa.gov/watersense. ### WaterSense, a partnership program sponsored by EPA, seeks to protect the future of our nation's water supply by offering consumers and businesses simple ways to use less water with water-efficient products, homes, and service STAY CONNECTED: QUESTIONS? Contact Us SUBSCRIBER SERVICES: Manage Subscriptions | Unsubscribe All | Subscriber Help Powered by Privacy Policy | Cookie Statement | Help