New Kids On The Block

What do you get when you mix great people who share a passion for engineering innovation, collaborative design, sustainability, and add a splash of water? Welcome to 660 Mission, Lotus’ new 4,700 square-foot home and office space shared with SITELAB Urban Studio in San Francisco’s dynamic SOMA neighborhood.

The two firms celebrated our new space with an Open House in October with friends, colleagues, and clients. We delighted our guests with a gourmet spread from Oakland’s Roux and Vine, sweet treats from Churn Urban Creamery, and craft brews from Black Hammer, including the limited release Sea Puppy created in homage to the Embarcadero Sea Wall.

We were thrilled to see so many familiar faces and are loving our new digs!

LEJ Volunteer Day!

Lotus had the privilege of volunteering at Literacy for Environmental Justice (LEJ), a non-profit dedicated to promoting ecological health, environmental stewardship, and community development in Southeast San Francisco.  LEJ works to create urban greening, eco-literacy, community stewardship, and workforce development opportunities that directly engage and support local residents in securing a healthier future. Team Lotus got our hands dirty (literally!) in their native plant nursery by moving soil, cleaning seeds, and transplanting baby plants to replenish native plant stock for restoration projects in Candlestick Point State Recreation Area (CPSRA).  The team had a blast getting outdoors and rolling up our sleeves to contribute back to our community!

Green Infrastructure Scores at WEFTEC

image credit: Mullenix

image credit: WEF

WEFTEC (Water Environment Federation's Technical Exhibition and Conference) is recognized as the largest conference of its kind in North America and offers water quality professionals from around the world with innovative water quality education and training. With the host city’s bustling French Quarter as a backdrop, Lotus’ Robert Dusenbury, along with the former King County Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Program Manager John Phillips, were selected to present on a new Green Infrastructure (GI) Project Scorecard developed collaboratively by Lotus Water, Herrera, and EcoNorthwest. The scorecard evaluates GI projects to determine when investment in GI is an appropriate part of the solution within a particular CSO basin. Over 100 project characteristics can be entered and evaluated to first determine the cost-benefit ratio of a GI project alternative compared against the baseline grey alternative within each basin, then both quantitative and qualitative additional benefits are stacked on top of that baseline comparison to determine when a GI concept should be carried forward for further development and evaluation. The framework of the tool is flexible and can be adapted to the priorities and values of other areas to comprehensively evaluate sustainable infrastructure in areas with complex environmental, cultural, and resiliency priorities like New Orleans.