WRD Awarded Prestigious LEED® Green Building GOLD Certification

LAKEWOOD, Calif., Oct 23, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --  The Water Replenishment District of Southern California announced today that it has been awarded LEED® Gold Certification established by the U.S. Green Building Council and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI).

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LEED® is the nation's preeminent program for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. The LEED® Gold plaque will be presented to WRD by The Los Angeles Green Building Council Executive Director Jorge Partido, at their 2012 State of the District Address, where LT. Gov. Gavin Newsom will be the Key Notes Speaker.

"WRD is proud to have been awarded the LEED® Gold Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council because it perfectly complements our 50-year record of environmental stewardship and our ongoing commitment to improved sustainability practices." said Albert Robles, Board President, "Just as WRD implements best practices to insure clean, safe and affordable drinking water, LEED® has provided us the tools to maximize our own sustainability practices."

WRD's commitment to environmental stewardship reaches beyond its effective management of groundwater replenishment activities into the sustainability of its facilities.  In 2012, the U. S. Green Building Council awarded the WRD with a LEED® Gold certification for its administration building.  It is by far the only LEED® gold-certified building in the City of Lakewood.

"Building operations are nearly 40% of the solution to the global climate change challenge," said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council. "While climate change is a global problem, innovative companies like WRD are addressing it through local solutions."

LEED® certification of WRD was based on a number of green design and construction features that positively impact the project itself and the broader community. These features include:

WRD has implemented the following major improvements to its administration building to enhance the sustainability of the building and subsequently achieved the LEED® Gold rating.

• Replaced the outdated air conditioning (AC) system with a high-efficiency AC system to increase the EnergyStar rating required by LEED®
• Installed and optimized a computer control system to automatically shut down the AC system during afterhours and weekends to minimize energy usage
• Installed occupancy light sensors in rooms and offices throughout the entire building
• Implemented several "green" policies and programs, through continuous execution by the entire WRD employees, to maximize the recycle of waste materials and the usage of green products.

U.S. Green Building Council

The Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Green Building Council is committed to a prosperous and sustainable future for our nation through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings.

With a community comprising 80 local affiliates, more than 18,000 member companies and organizations, and more than 167,000 LEED® Professional Credential holders, USGBC is the driving force of an industry that is projected to contribute $554 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product from 2009-2013. USGBC leads an unlikely diverse constituency of builders and environmentalists, corporations and nonprofit organizations, elected officials and concerned citizens, and teachers and students.

Buildings in the United States are responsible for 39% of CO2 emissions, 40% of energy consumption, 13% water consumption and 15% of GDP per year, making green building a source of significant economic and environmental opportunity. Greater building efficiency can meet 85% of future U.S. demand for energy, and a national commitment to green building has the potential to generate 2.5 million American jobs.

LEED®

The U.S. Green Building Council's LEED® green building certification system is the foremost program for the design, construction and operation of green buildings. Over 100,000 projects are currently participating in the LEED® rating systems, comprising over 8 billion square feet of construction space in all 50 states and 114 countries.

By using less energy, LEED®-certified buildings save money for families, businesses and taxpayers; reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and contribute to a healthier environment for residents, workers and the larger community.

USGBC was co-founded by current President and CEO Rick Fedrizzi, who spent 25 years as a Fortune 500 executive. Under his 15-year leadership, the organization has become the preeminent green building, membership, policy, standards, influential, education and research organization in the nation.

WRD

The Water Replenishment District of Southern California is the regional groundwater management agency that protects and preserves the quantity and quality of groundwater for two of the most utilized urban basins in the State of California. The service area is home to over ten percent of California's population residing in 43 cities in southern Los Angeles County. WRD is governed by a publicly elected Board of Directors which includes Willard H. Murray, Jr., Robert Katherman, Lillian Kawasaki, Sergio Calderon, and Albert Robles.

For more information, please visit WRD at www.wrd.org

SOURCE Water Replenishment District of Southern California