EcoVision Report to Citizens

The following is an excerpt from the EcoVision Annual Report 2009. The full report can be viewed under Related Documents.

Introduction
Air
Land
Climate
Water

Introduction

The EcoVision Annual Report 2009 is the City's report card to citizens about our environmental programs. The report looks at programs in the categories of Air, Climate, Land, Water and Environmental Management and evaluates the current state of each program and the challenges they face.

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Air

Historically, the environmental management of emissions has focused on continual improvement of emissions control technologies both for industrial facilities and vehicles. As a result of improving pollution control technologies, we have seen generally good air quality in the Edmonton region for the past 15 years. This improvement has occurred even though the number of cars on the road has increased and additional industrial facilities have been constructed.

Edmonton’s air quality has improved significantly since the 1970s. The number of “good” air quality hours in 2009 slightly increased over 2008 from 96.19% to 96.51% but remains slightly below the provincial target of 97%. In general, the majority of days with poor air quality involved particulate matter and can largely be attributed to temperature inversions during the winter months. However, the September grass fire in Lamont also contributed particulate matter-induced poor air quality in Edmonton in 2009.

Air Quality Index - Edmonton

   2004
% of hours		 2005
% of hours 		 2006
% of hours 		 2007
% of hours		 2008
% of hours

2009
% of hours

Good

97. 26

99. 31

96. 77

97. 51

96.15

96.46

Fair

2. 69

0. 69

3. 18

2. 47

3.81

3.47

Poor

0. 04

0.00

0. 05

0. 02

0.04

0.07

Very

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0

How are we protecting our air?
  • Ozone Management Plan: The City of Edmonton is participating, through the Alberta Capital Airshed Alliance, in an exercise to evaluate the ambient air quality network. The work is expected to be completed by the end of 2010.
  • Idle Control Education Campaign: Be Idle Free: A Minute or Less is Best is a new City program encouraging Edmonton motorists to turn off their car’s engine if they sit idle for more than one minute, except in traffic. Messaging and graphics were developed based on the Province of Alberta’s Idle Free Schools educational program; downloadable posters and brochures were created and made available on the City website; and messaging and information were distributed to the Community Services department to include in various community newsletters.
  • Fuel Sense Training: In 2009, 94 municipal fleet drivers and 226 bus drivers received Fuel Sense training. This training is now mandatory for all employees that drive on a regular basis for the City. In 2009, Transit Inspectors conducted checks throughout the city to monitor bus operator compliance to the Idle Control Work Procedure. A total of 2,141 buses were monitored citywide. Overall, 81.9% of buses met the idle control criteria. This is an improvement from 2008 numbers which indicated a compliance rate of 47%.
  • Buses: Over 2009, 48 older General Motors (GMC) buses were retired and replaced with low-emission New Flyer clean diesel buses.  The staged retirement of the older GMC buses in 2009 resulted in an estimated reduction of 1.8 tonnes of NOx and 0.43 tonnes of PM.
  • Fleet Management: In 2009, 47 municipal fleet vehicles were replaced with newer models. Monitoring fleet turnover by age and engine class can provide valuable information on how quickly emissions reductions are being realized and if projections of reductions in emissions are on track. As the municipal fleet continues to expand with the growing City, the number of units required and kilometres travelled will continue to increase making absolute emissions reductions more of a challenge.

What can you do?
  • Make it a habit to take transit and the LRT, or carpool.
  • Travel actively, on bike and on foot.
  • Choose fuel-efficient vehicles.
  • Keep all engines well tuned.
  • Don't idle unnecessarily.
  • Have your furnace inspected each year and change filters regularly.
  • When building or renovating, use materials and paints containing ultra low volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
  • Plant and water trees.

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Climate

Understanding the opportunities and limits of low-carbon energy systems that can meet the needs of Edmontonians while mitigating anthropogenic emissions that contribute to climate change is important to Edmonton’s sustainability. The future supply and distribution of fossil fuels as well as the commitments to reduce CO2 both suggest the future will be carbon constrained. The connections between energy and climate change are undeniable and gaining an understanding of the future sources and availability of energy is extremely important.

The City is approaching the challenge of climate change by implementing strategies in both City operations and the community that focus on the mitigation and management of carbon dioxide emissions.

How are we addressing climate change?

  • Measurable Community GHG emissions: Community GHG emissions were reduced by 5,169 tonnes in 2009 through CO2RE initiatives including high-efficiency furnace rebates, New Home Builders rebates for Built Green™ Gold certified homes and low-income households’ high-efficiency furnace rebates.
  • Go Green! It’s Our Nature: Residents were asked to take two new actions to reduce their environmental footprint by June 2009. Two new tools were developed:
    • Zerofootprint Edmonton calculator: an online calculator that allows people to measure their impact in five key areas (travel, yard, energy, water and waste)
    • Green Resource Guide: a guide highlighting various environmental programs and services provided by EcoVision Edmonton.
  • Earth Hour: On March 28, Edmonton joined 8,000 other cities around the world by participating in Earth Hour, a global lights out movement. Participation by citizens increased significantly over the previous year and EPCOR reported a 5.1% reduction in power use across the city.
  • ICLEI Community Programmes: Four community programs took place during ICLEI, each highlighting the importance of environmental awareness. The programs were: Voices of Nature, a musical performance by local school children; Gone Green, an art exhibit featuring works made using reclaimed and recycled materials; Lights Down Stars Up photography exhibit highlighting Edmonton’s night sky; and That’s Edmonton For You, a concert in Louise McKinney Park featuring original music on the subject of community sustainability performed by local musicians.
  • Sustainable Fleet Management Plan: Fleet Services developed a Sustainable Fleet Management Plan in early 2009. The content was reviewed by the Senior Management Team in 2009 and a Light Duty Vehicle Administrative Directive was established to consider right sizing factors and more fuel efficient vehicles such as hybrids as part of the procurement process. It is estimated that a reduction of 54 TCO2e are attributable to these efforts in 2009.
  • LRT Expansion: Edmonton Transit LRT opened the Belgravia/McKernan and South Campus stations in 2009, contributing to an increase of 20,000 passengers per day on the LRT system. The continued LRT expansion south to Southgate and Century Park stations in 2010 will provide further incentive for people in the newly-serviced areas to consider transit as a viable alternative to driving during rush hour.

What can you do?

  • Get an ecoENERGY audit and make your home as energy efficient as it can be.
  • Install compact fluorescent light bulbs, which use 75% less energy and last 10 times longer.
  • Buy local food and products to reduce your footprint and help sustain local businesses.
  • Wash in cold water and avoid using your dryer to reduce your carbon footprint as much as 250 kg a year.
  • Turn off your computer and unplug appliances when not in use.
  • Purchase green energy to encourage the shift away from fossil fuels.
  • Join and use carpool.ca.
  • Choose a fuel-efficient vehicle and keep it tuned up.
  • Drive less and avoid idling unnecessarily (10 seconds when parked; 30 seconds when warming up the vehicle).
  • Vacation at home! When was the last time you visited Fort Edmonton Park or spent a couple of days hiking the river valley?
  • Offset your travel by purchasing carbon credits.
  • Take old refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners to an Eco Station or the Edmonton Waste Management Centre.

Other Links

Carbon Dioxide Reduction Edmonton (CO2RE)

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Land

Nature is intrinsically connected to a healthy urban environment as it provides ecological services such as flood control, climate moderation, and pollination. However, many of our citizens are not aware of this connection. The City and its partners are finding new ways to engage the community to understand the importance of biodiversity and ways to integrate biodiversity considerations into decision-making processes.

Although the City of Edmonton is contributing significant resources to secure Edmonton’s last remaining important natural areas (perhaps more than any city in Canada), it continues to experience significant losses of natural areas as new residents move to Edmonton in unprecedented numbers. These growth pressures cannot be underestimated when managing urban natural areas.

Waste Management
In 2009, a per person decrease of 7.5% and a 7.0% in total residential waste collected was seen compared to 2008. The decreases continued a trend that began in 2008 which saw a 7% per capita decrease and 2% reduction in the total residential waste collected when compared to 2007. Another positive trend over the past decade has been the increase in recycling as a proportion of the total residential waste stream. Between 1997 and 2009, residential waste collected increased from 11.9% to 19% recyclable material.

Urban Development
From 2003 to 2009, the city’s built area increased 13.6% in size, while its population increased 11.9%. Looking solely at the density of residential land (i.e., city population divided by the sum of residential zoned hectares and direct control hectares), density decreased from 35.6 persons per hectare in 2003 to 34.2 persons per hectare in 2009. Given these figures, the objective of intensification of residential development was not met during this period.

Transportation
Over the course of 2009, the City of Edmonton completed a number of major policy initiatives that set the direction for Edmonton to become a sustainable, urban city. As a result, over the next few years Edmonton will begin to see significant infrastructure investments targeted toward providing more travel options to citizens. These investments will include an expanded LRT system as well as an expanded and better connected network of walking and cycling facilities. These investments will provide the support necessary to enable a change in the mode split.

Natural Areas
Natural areas are being converted to other land uses at an increasing pace. In 2009 alone, 50 ha of Edmonton’s most important natural areas were lost forever. In recognition of the importance and urgency to accelerate the conservation of nature, City Council passed a $20 million borrowing initiative in 2009 so that another 100 ha of higher biodiversity natural areas can be conserved before they are lost.

Contaminated Lands
Although all five applicant spots were filled in 2006, the program has yet to provide funding to any of the participants. As of December 2009, only two participants formally remained in the program. The grant program is being evaluated and a “lessons learned” approach will be applied when developing future brownfield programs.

Toxic Substances
In 2009, steps were taken to evaluate and either eliminate or reduce products used in City operations that contain toxic or hazardous components that can be dispersed into the environment. Several branches introduced procedures and/or environmental programs with the objective to 1) purchase products that are environmentally sound and/or 2) replace existing products with more environmentally friendly products.

Also in 2009, the City of Edmonton developed a Sustainable Purchasing Policy (SPP) that provides a framework for purchasing that can be systematically applied across business units. The SPP is expected to incorporate toxics reduction into its criteria as it is phased in over time.

Pesticides
Pesticides have the potential to act as environmental toxins. Impacts are largely determined by a pesticide’s mode of action or intended method of attack. Over the past decade, the City has moved away from broadcast turf herbicide spraying to spot spraying of weeds. In 2008, City pesticide use reached its lowest level of use in sixteen years.

How are we protecting land?

  • Biofuels Facility: Environmental permits were received in 2009 and construction will begin in 2010. The facility will be built by Enerkem Greenfield Alberta Biofuels. This facility will enable the City to divert more than 90% of residential waste from the landfill.
  • Electronic Waste Recycling: In 2009, 12,250 tonnes of e-waste was recycled at this facility, located at the EWMC.
  • Sand Recycling: During winter 2008/09, Transportation Operations Branch spread 160,000 tonnes of sand on city streets. Approximately 85,000 tonnes were recovered for reuse.
  • Neighbourhood Commercial Revitalization Program: Under the Smart Choices umbrella, this program will be initiated in 2010 to explore further actions to revitalize Edmonton’s older neighbourhood commercial centres.
  • LRT Network Plan: A network plan for LRT was approved by Edmonton City Council in June 2009, and specific alignments for the west and southeast lines were approved in December 2009. In addition, the new Belgravia/McKernan and South Campus stations on the south LRT line opened in April 2009.
  • Master Naturalist Program: The Office of Natural Areas Conservation, with support from other City staff and community experts, completed a pilot run of the Master Naturalist Program with 25 participants. The program provides 35 hours of stewardship training in exchange for 35 hours of volunteer service dedicated to the stewardship of local natural areas. The program will continue in 2010.
  • Contaminated Gas Stations Task Force: In late 2009, City Council initiated the formation of a task force of council. The Committee is made up of five members of City Council. Essentially the task force will oversee and direct the implementation of a plan to encourage site clean up and deter continued inaction on brownfield sites that were historically operating as gas stations.
  • Biological herbicides: Established two field plots in 2009 to investigate the performance of Sarritor, a new fungal pathogen-based herbicide (mycoherbicide) registered in Canada to control dandelions in turf.

What can you do?

  • Generate less waste.
  • Compost food and yard waste.
  • Buy reusable, rechargeable, bulk or refillable items.
  • Choose non-toxic household cleaning products.
  • Use cloth or reusable bags – or none at all.
  • Pick up litter when you see it.
  • Participate in public hearings on land-use zoning changes.
  • Stick to the trails in parks and natural areas.
  • Participate in the annual River Valley Clean Up and Capital City Clean Up.
  • Landscape with native Alberta plants to protect biodiversity and minimize the need for weed control.
  • Mow high to discourage weeds.
  • Take household hazardous waste (paint, solvents, cleaning products, batteries) to an Eco Station.
  • Take unwanted computers, TVs and electrical appliances to an Eco Station or donate them for reuse.
  • Do not use fertilizer herbicide combination products to manage weeds on your lawn.

Other Links

Turf Maintenance

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Water

Conservation
EPCOR reports that in 2009 Edmontonians consumed approximately 223 L of water per day while the average Canadian consumed approximately 266 L per day. Comparatively, Edmonton’s residential water use is one of the lowest in the country. However, Canada uses more water per person than almost any other country. Although water is considered a renewable resource, pressures on the resource are growing.

Population growth in the City of Edmonton and surrounding region will likely continue to increase overall demand for water. This, combined with natural drought pressures, represents a water management challenge.

River Water Quality Index (North Saskatchewan River)

96/97 97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02
Upstream of Edmonton
(Devon)		 91 97 93 86 90 98
Downstream of Edmonton
(Pakan)		 66 71 77 81 85 86

02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08
Upstream of Edmonton
(Devon)		 97 98 97 88 98

93

Downstream of Edmonton
(Pakan)		 90 74 74 79 83

85

Legend

Excellent Good Fair Marginal Poor
96-100 81-95 66-80 46-65 0-45

How are we protecting our water?

  • New slow release tree watering techniques: A cost effectiveness study investigated the use of 600 gator bags and ooze tubes on new tree plantings.
  • Improved Treatment of Sewer Overflows: Enhanced primary treatment construction was completed at the treatment plant. This facility will provide basic treatment to sewer overflows that would otherwise discharge directly to the river during rainstorms and snowmelt.
  • Reducing Amounts of Mercury from Dental Offices: A bylaw amendment requiring dental offices to install amalgam separators came into effect in 2008. Now 98% of Edmonton dental offices use the separators, collectively preventing 25 kg of mercury from entering the environment each year.
  • Reuse of Pool Water: Approximately 3,000 cubic metres of pool water was dechlorinated and used to irrigate sports fields and parkland.
  • Tree Watering: A study was started to evaluate the benefits of new tree watering methods.

What can you do?
  • Use a rain barrel to catch water for plants and/or toilets, ensuring  that overflows are directed away from your foundation.
  • Install ENERGY STAR® rated water-efficient fixtures.
  • Purchase a low flush toilet when making renovations or purchasing a new home.
  • Shower for no more than five minutes, turning the tap off while soaping.
  • Wash your clothes less; they'll last longer while you save water.
  • Keep a jug of water in the fridge to cool rather than running excess water from the tap.
  • Keep chemicals, solid materials and other contaminants out of storm drains or manholes.
  • Do not wash your car at home, where contaminants flow into the river.
  • Do not litter or drop cigarette butts on the ground to be washed into the river.
  • Avoid applying weed killers when rain is in the forecast.
  • Don't flush unused prescription drugs, personal care products or cleaning chemicals. The wastewater treatment plant cannot remove many of these, and they end up in the river.
  • Reduce or eliminate the use of pesticides and fertilizers where possible.

Links

Wastewater & Sewers
EPCOR

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For more information:

Office of Environment

Suite 750, Tower 1 Scotia Place
10060 Jasper Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta
T5J 3R8

Telephone

In Edmonton: 311
Outside Edmonton: 780-442-5311
Fax 780-495-0612
Email env@edmonton.ca
Website (http://www.edmonton.ca/ecovision)
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