Award for Holloway Green Street

The EPA recently awarded the Holloway Avenue Green Street Project with an Honorable Mention as part of its 2018 Performance and Innovation in the State Revolving Fund Creating Environmental Success (PISCES) program. The project (also referred to as the Lake Merced Green Infrastructure project) is located within the Ingleside Neighborhood and is one of eight SFPUC Early Implementation Projects that have been constructed or are currently being constructed as part of Sewer System Improvement Program. Completed in 2017, the project converts a nine-block stretch of an urban residential street and important bike route into a high-performing green street that also provides pedestrian and bike safety improvements. Parking lanes were reconstructed with pervious concrete pavement to manage roadway runoff and bioretention was incorporated into new corner bulbouts and sidewalk planters to manage sidewalk runoff while also adding greenery along the corridor. The new green infrastructure measures will remove approximately 1 million gallons of stormwater each year from the City’s combined sewer system.

Lotus Water led the planning, stormwater modeling and preliminary design of this project. Additionally, we are providing post-construction performance monitoring and analysis and performing maintenance inspections.

Read more about the PISCES award here!

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

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.