SUBMITTED BY ROY HEALD, DISTRICT MANAGER, SECURITY SANITATION DISTRICT AND ERIN GARCIA, COMMUNITY RELATIONS SPECIALIST, FOUNTAIN UTILITIES
    The Security Sanitation District and the City of Fountain Electric Department are partnering on a project to replace the streetlights on Crawford Avenue and Highway 85, two major arterials in the region.
    The project will install 36 LED lamps using less than one half of the energy used by existing high pressure sodium (HPS) or mercury vapor cobra style lights.  The intent is to replace existing 400 watt heads with LED heads that have a comparable light output (180 watts or less.)  The objective is to reduce energy consumption by over 50%, or 33,000 kilowatt hours per year, which would reduce the carbon footprint relative to lights presently in use.  This represents an annual reduction of 20 to 40 tons of CO2. 
    Existing lamps have a design life of 40,000 hours while LED lamps are anticipated to last 100,000 hours.  In addition to energy savings and carbon reduction, this increase in lamp life reduces maintenance costs and lowers maintenance crew exposure to vehicle hazards while working in the roadway. 
    Existing high pressure sodium lamp heads removed from the system will be reused if possible and mercury vapor lamps will be disposed of using federal guidelines.  The project is underway and scheduled for completion this spring. 
    This project was undertaken in connection with the settlement of an enforcement action taken by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for violations of the Colorado Water Quality Control Act by the Security Sanitation District.