Pack It In, Pack It Out: Beginning April 1, our custodial team is ending its service to offices and cubicles, including trash and recycling collection. Learn more.

Utilities Articles

Dozens of people pose for a group photo at a Safety Lighting Walk

Campus Safety Lighting Walk Recap

  • by FM Communications
Every year, the Campus Safety Lighting Walk brings together students, staff, and local community members to assess campus lighting conditions, broken light fixtures, and identify areas in need of improvement. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who participated in this year’s walk. Your involvement plays a crucial role in enhancing campus safety, and we deeply appreciate the time and effort you contributed to this important cause.
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Team Spotlight: Engineering and Compliance

  • by FM Communications
 

This newsletter, we want to highlight the hard work of the Utilities Operations Engineering and Compliance Team, who play a crucial role in ensuring that both public health and environmental standards are met on campus. With a dedicated group of professionals, this Facilities Management (FM) team is committed to maintaining high-quality water systems and waste management practices. We sat down with Courtney Doss, who has been Senior Civil Engineer since February, to learn more about the team and what they do.

Man stands among pipes and tanks

UC Davis Awarded $4.77M Grant to Convert Food Waste, Power Unitrans Buses

  • by Scout Mata and Katie Hetrick, FOA Communications
Tucked away on the west side of campus, UC Davis’ READ facility receives 20 tons of food waste per day from customers including local grocery stores and our own campus dining commons. With the improvements a recent $4.77M CalRecycle grant provides, the READ facility becomes an important part of UC Davis’ strategy to eliminate the use of fossil fuels from its operations and fight climate change.
Pile of organic waste at the READ facility

Turning Trash into Treasure: Food Waste Byproducts Fertilize Fields

  • by Scout Mata and Katie Hetrick, FOA Communications
Since taking ownership in 2017, UC Davis Facilities Management has dedicated itself to revitalizing the READ facility, working with academic and industry experts to find creative solutions including the development of an ammonia extraction system that processes the ammonia-rich digestate, separating it into nearly ammonia-free digestate and concentrated ammonia. The ammonia-free digestate can be processed at the campus’s wastewater treatment plant, or by other means, locally without adding excess nutrients to inland waters. The concentrated ammonia product has now become a valuable commodity purchased by California Safe Soil as an ingredient in the formulation of a certified organic fertilizer.
Exterior Lighting Team

Shining a Light on Campus Safety

  • by FM Communications

The exterior lighting team, who manages over 13,000 lights and 5 intersections of traffic signals on campus, works tirelessly to improve campus safety. We sat down with Philip Erickson, who supervises the team, to talk about all the important work they are doing. 

Campus commits $55.5 million to the next phase of Big Shift

  • by Scout Mata

Earlier this month, the Chancellor and the Chancellor’s Committee on Campus Planning and Design, or CCCPD, endorsed moving forward with a $55.5 million investment of campus funds for the next phase of the Big Shift – a heating infrastructure overhaul that represents a crucial step in reducing the university’s fossil fuel usage. 

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