After 25 years of operation, the campus Wastewater Treatment Plant is due for significant updates to keep serving our growing university and contributing to a flourishing riparian habitat. As part of the university’s commitment to maintaining and upgrading its infrastructure for efficiency and sustainability, the Utilities Wastewater Treatment Plant team is pursuing a study to identify improvements to increase the longevity and efficacy of the plant.
One of UC Davis’ most iconic symbols is getting some much-needed TLC. The water tower located across the way from UC Davis Health Stadium—affectionately known as “Touchdown Tower”—is undergoing a significant restoration.
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.
UC Davis Facilities Management and Police Department invite all students, faculty, staff, and community members to participate in the annual Campus Safety Lighting Walk on Wednesday, January 22, 2025.
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.
Nearly a decade ago, campus leaders at UC Davis decided to invest in a small team of employees to reduce energy by optimizing building controls and systems. The concept was that UC Davis could fund such a team, if it could curb high utility bills — essentially having the team pay for itself with energy savings.
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.
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.
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.
