Another National Tree Award

Photo: Tavo Olmos Expert care helps keep Pasadena's trees healthy.

CAREFUL PRUNING by highly trained hands has earned Pasadena Water and Power a Tree Line USA Award for the second year in a row. Presented by the National Arbor Day Foundation, the honor recognizes utilities across the nation that demonstrate practices that protect and enhance America’s urban forests.

Earning the designation isn’t easy. To bring home the award, PWP had to prove that crews follow the very best techniques when grooming thousands of Pasadena trees in parks and along streets, clearing branches near high-voltage power lines and trenching or tunneling near fragile roots; that annual training is provided to crews and an active tree-planting and public education program is in place.

Of course, PWP doesn’t just do all this for the award. As the National Arbor Day Foundation points out, expert care helps keep Pasadena’s trees healthy, cuts the costs of reviving trees after a bad pruning job and reduces tree deaths from sloppy trenching and tunneling. Proper tree care also protects the power grid and helps reduce Pasadena’s overall air conditioning costs thanks to an abundance of shade trees. Trees also help absorb carbon dioxide produced by the machines we use every day.

You can do your part by planting shade trees at home. PWP offers $40 rebates (up to $200 total per customer) for homeowners who plant any one of 37 varieties. Visit www.PWPweb.com and click on Your Home and then Programs and Rebates or call 744-6970 for more information about the Cool Trees Program.

Cutting the Water Bills at Vista Nova

VISTA NOVA HOME OF THE BLIND is enjoying spring-fresh clothes and lower utility bills thanks to Pasadena Water and Power. PWP recently helped Vista Nova secure a new, high-efficiency (HE) Maytag Neptune® washer/dryer set through a giveaway sponsored by California Water Awareness Campaign and Flex Your Power.

HE clothes washers typically use horizontal-axis technology, tumbling clothes through a much smaller pool of water and removing more moisture from clothes with a high-speed spin cycle. Studies show that HE washers can cut energy use by 40% and water use by 50%, saving an average residential energy user up to 7,000 gallons a year.

Photo: Mike Marshall PWP's public benifits manager explains the energy efficiency rating of the new washer/dryer to two Nova Vista residents.

The new energy and water-saving appliances will be a great help because Vista Nova receives no government funding and relies heavily on donors and foundation support. Established in 1965 by the vision-impaired community and the Pasadena Host Lions Club, Vista Nova provides housing and support to 17 residents who are legally blind or experiencing significant vision loss.

Want to try the technology for yourself? Buy and install an HE clothes washer and you’ll qualify for a $200 rebate from PWP! For more information and an application, visit www.pwpweb.com and click on Your Home and then Programs and Rebates or call 744-6970.

Clearing the Air with Hybrid Vehicles

SHOWING OFF GREAT NEW CLEAN-AIR TECHNOLOGY technology at work, Pasadena Water and Power’s meter readers are zipping around Pasadena in hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs).

When the lease expired on their electric vehicles from Ford, the team looked into HEV technology. What they learned convinced the city to buy seven new Honda Civic EVs. With a gasoline-electric hybrid power train, the HEVs give top-notch fuel economy, covering 47 miles per gallon. What’s more, HEVs produce about 90% fewer smog-forming emissions than typical new gasoline vehicles, helping them earn special certification from California’s Air Resources Board. 

The cars are a great addition to PWP’s fleet, demonstrating an ongoing commitment to the environment and showing customers what hybrid vehicles can do. Watch for the white cars, featuring PWP’s logo, on the road this summer.

Increase in Fees Fund Systems and Services

A FEW SMALL INCREASES in city utility fees will help pay for services and system improvements. The Capital Improvement Charge (CIC) was established in April 2003 to pay for system improvements recommended in PWP’s Water System Master Plan, which calls for repair or replacement of Pasadena’s aging wells, reservoirs and pipes, including the replacement of cast-iron pipes more than 100 years old with new pipes that will last another 100 years. Starting this month, the CIC will increase from 20¢ per billing unit to 42¢ per billing unit. (A billing unit is 100 cubic feet or 748 gallons of water.) The additional charge for a typical homeowner using 15 billing units per month will be about $3.30.

General fees for service have been raised, including electricity and water turn-on and turn-off, reconnection and customer-requested meter readings. General fees for service haven’t been raised in more than five years.

For more information call the PWP AnswerLine at 744-6970.