Dallas Environmental Quality & Water Conservation efforts net United Nations Honors

A new series of videos highlight the City of Dallas’ sustainability efforts, which recently netted recognition from the United Nations.

 

Office of Environmental Quality & Sustainability Director James McGuire and Dallas Water Utilities Manager Holly Holt were featured in the videos produced by the Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD).

 

The videos detail the City’s achievement of U.N. Sustainability Goal 06: Clean Water and Sanitation and Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. (You can view the videos here and here)

 

In one video, Holt discussed how the city has worked to maintain clean drinking water and conserve more than 550 million gallons annually.

 

“That can fill up AT&T Stadium almost two-thirds,” Holt said. “So if you think about that…you understand how much of an impact we can make in terms of saving water.”

 

One of the city’s more popular programs is called New Throne for Your Home. The program offers residents free toilets if their home was built before 1994. The new toilets only use 1.28 gallons per flush compared to about seven gallons per flush on the old ones. That means residents save money and conserve water. 

 

McGuire also talked about the city’s renewable energy efforts.

 

“Through proactive efforts, the city was able to experience a 68% reduction in emissions from 1990 to 2017, in large part due to the city’s commitment to use 100% renewable energy,” said McGuire. “ That means none of the energy we use is sourced from coal-fired power points or other sources that would impact our air quality.” 

 

McGuire filmed his video with the Trinity River Audubon Center as a backdrop and described how the private landfill became a nature sanctuary visited by tens of thousands of people every year.

“Look at the beauty all around us,” McGuire said. “We turned an open dump into a beautiful oasis where kids come to learn, people come to experience wildlife, and locals can take a peaceful walk on the Trinity River.” 

 

Visit the link below to see the videos produced by DCCCD featuring the City of Dallas and other local honorees supporting UN Goals. 

https://www.dcccd.edu/au/sustainability/initiatives/un-sdgs/pages/default.aspx

Written by Nichelle Sullivan