Sustainability at The Santee Lakes

In 1959, new waste water treatment standards were put into place. In Santee, , the then General Manager of the Santee County Water District (later named ), came up with an idea that would use primary treatment and a series of lakes to complete a treatment process that not only exceeded the standards but also addressed the demand for imported water.

Two years later Lake Four was opened for boating and picnicking. The following year it was opened for .

Fifty years later and is continuing to grow sustainably. Two million gallons of water are recycled everyday! Half of that water is sold to golf courses, city parks and schools. You probably have seen it, it flows through town in purple pipes. The other half of the water fills the recreational lakes and irrigates the surrounding landscaping. California's recycled water standards are the benchmark for not only the rest of the United States, but the entire world. The recycling of water at Santee Lakes stops 730 million gallons of partially treated sewage from flowing straight into the Pacific Ocean and it has created a park that attracts over 650,000 visitors every year.

Santee Lakes' have grown in many different ways. They have a huge photovoltaic (PV) system, an excellent waste reduction and recycling plan, they are involved with urban forestry, and have their very own Green Days at the Lakes. In fact, Melissa McChesney, the Communications Coordinator at Padre Dam, thinks that, "The really cool thing about Santee Lakes is, the whole reason we exist is sustainability."

The is gigantic. It consists of 14,000 PV panels that cover a combined area of four acres. The panels generate a combined one million kilowatt hours every year, covering half of the parks energy needs. According to the Santee Lakes website, the system will save 1,485,519 pounds of carbon from ending up in the atmosphere every year as well as saving 12,921 pounds of nitrogen oxide and a combined amount of 14,213.4 pounds of nitrogen and sulfur oxide emissions over the life of the system.

The Santee Lakes Solar Project gave the park the opportunity to become an energy producer but the panels also have another job. Due to an intelligent design choice, the PV panels were not simply set low to the ground, but are raised high above, allowing the park to rent the space beneath to people who need to store their RVs. Santee Lakes didn't cut corners with the storage space, either! Not only do they provide the vehicles shade from the panels -- a real treat in the storage industry.

When it comes to reducing your ecological footprint the little things add up quick. [Calculate your own carbon footprint here.] At Santee Lakes they are doing a lot more things to shirk the size of their ecological footprint.

In addition to the large solar project the Lakes has a few smaller ones. There are seven (and counting) solar powered street lamps. Plus, if you need go to the restroom just south of the General Store, the bathroom lights are powered by two small photovoltaic panels. To save the energy created by the panels the restroom lights are on a censor so they only turn on when someone enters or if it is dark.

The on-site recycling program diverts ten tons of materials from entering the local landfill. Green waste is also separated, diverting an additional fifty tons of materials a year. The tree trimmings are chipped on-site and used as mulch around the park as well.

Speaking of green-waste, the , which traditionally includes herbicide use to reduce weeds. The maintenance staff has managed to reduce their herbicide use with the Harvester Boat. The Harvester Boat is like a lawn mower, it cuts and removes the weeds from the lakes. The staff then lets them dry out and puts them in a green waste bin for composting. The use of the Harvester Boat reduced the amount of herbicides used by seventy-two percent.

On Santee Lakes' website, it says that in the past four years they have planted 670 trees. Each tree is mapped using GPS so they know, "the age, height, health and maintenance history of every tree in the park." A while back, the State of California had a state-wide community tree planting initiative with a goal of planting one million trees, sixty of those trees are right there in Santee Lakes. In total the park has 1,850 trees that are removing 88,800 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Urban forestry will continue to grow at Santee Lakes because of their general guide line; if they have to remove a tree for some reason, they will plant two or three in it's place.

If you would like to get involved and help Santee Lakes grow sustainably you can. Every year they host Green Day at the Lakes, where volunteers donate their time and skills to improve the park.

Another way you can help the park is to go there! "When you pay the $3 at the gate, $5 on the weekends, ," says Bryan Hague, the Park & Recreation Supervisor. Santee Lakes is totally sufficient. It is a model for other parks. In the future they would like to add a lot more solar lamps and switch their vehicle fleet to electric. You can help them do this by spending time in a beautiful park having a picnic with the one you love, and family, or . The possibilities are endless.