See below for a list of projects for our 6-month fellowship term starting March 10, 2025.

 

Host: City of Boynton Beach
Region: Half Time
Openings: 1
Project Focus: Climate Mitigation, Disaster Response and Preparedness / Emergency Management (e.g.,flood prevention, wildfire prevention, coastal protection), Energy Efficiency, Infrastructure Development, including Broadband, Renewable Energy
Skills Needed: Project Management, Research, Data Collection, Technical Writing,

Remote or On-Site Placement

On-site

Service Needs & Plans

The City of Boynton Beach requests assistance with an energy efficiency audit and renewable energy feasibility study for our water utilities system. The water utilities alone make up approximately 70% of the City’s total CO2 emissions. The City has an ambitious goal to cut citywide emissions by 50% in 2035. Conducting this audit and study will allow us to develop a long-term plan for renewable energy within this system and meet our emissions reduction goal.

This project would serve the City of Boynton Beach’s Utilities Department to better serve our customers (i.e., making the system more resilient) and meet the 50% emissions reduction goals. The City’s water treatment system services approximately 112,000 customers, making it increasingly important to ensure that this system is resilient to the impacts of future climate change. Boynton Beach is a coastal community subject to severe weather, such as hurricanes, droughts, flooding, etc. This system is aging and increasing adaptive capacity for these events is critical. This project would also help evaluate if a transition to renewable energy is feasible and provide us with direction to ensure that future generations have access to clean drinking water with minimal disruptions, especially during natural disasters.

Project Description

The City of Boynton Beach operates two water treatment plants. The East Water Treatment Plant treats up to 24 million gallons per day using a traditional lime softening/sand filtration process. In 2017, the plant was upgraded with a state-of-the-art Magnetic Ion Exchange (MIEX) pretreatment system to treat water transported from the western wellfield via a 6-mile-long pipeline. This upgrade protects the eastern wellfield from saltwater intrusion. The West Water Treatment Plant uses microscopic membranes to filter contaminants in western wellfield water, treating an average of 12 million gallons per day. Both plants consume several kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy each day to maintain operations.

This project has two phases. The first phase would evaluate the current energy usage of the system to evaluate consumption trends. We hope to evaluate the entire system’s energy consumption to help identify areas of opportunity for improved efficiencies and allow us to target areas within the system for future optimization projects. Phase two will include conducting a feasibility study to examine the capabilities of the system to incorporate renewable energy (i.e., solar) for enhanced energy efficiency and/or the feasibility of Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) programs.

The fellow will be responsible for both phases of the project. The fellow will evaluate energy consumption within the City’s water utilities system and ancillary equipment using provided energy data from 2023 to present to identify trends. Review of the usage data will help the Utilities Department understand costs used during peak demand vs. regular operations. The system evaluation includes, but is not limited to: The East and West Water treatment plants, wellfields, pumping stations, wastewater lift stations, and ancillary equipment associated with the system.

The fellow will also assist in research of REC programs within the state of Florida and conduct a cost-benefit analysis to determine the benefit to convert to this program. With the help of City sustainability staff, the fellow would evaluate the potential cost savings of participating in a REC program versus keeping the existing energy consumption practices. The fellow would also research renewable energy installation at the plants.

The desired resources that come from this project include:

• A report summarizing the findings of the energy data audit, including the following information:
  • Comprehensive analysis of energy usage data from 2023 to present, identifying patterns, trends, and potential areas of cost savings.
  • Analysis of the change in consumption during the year.
  • Comparative analysis highlighting differences in energy costs during peak demand periods versus regular operations, along with recommendations for cost reduction during peak times.
  • Calculate energy consumption through consumption stations
  • Recommendations for next steps
• A report benchmarking the City’s water utility energy usage against industry standards or similar municipalities, identifying opportunities for improvement.
• A report summarizing the renewables feasibility study for the water utilities system, including recommendations for installing solar, participating in RECs, or both
• Calculations for renewables vs. current energy consumption vs. RECs
  • Analysis of current energy consumption, using 2023 as baseline
  • Cost benefit and return on investment (ROI) analysis to invest in infrastructure for solar and to participate in REC programs.

These resources will allow the City to properly evaluate energy efficiency and provide the capacity to conduct this research for the water utilities system. We are currently limited in this research due to budget and personnel restrictions. Working with a fellow will provide the ability to complete this project and direction to achieve our long-term emissions reduction goals. The fellow’s sole responsibility will be this project. Sustainability staff will provide all necessary guidance and support for this project.

Desired Skills

The ideal candidate will have previous experience with financial calculations. Experience with Excel and EnergyStar Portfolio Manager desired.

Organization & Workplace Highlights

The City of Boynton Beach is the third largest city in Palm Beach County and has approximately 81,000 residents. Situated in coastal Palm Beach County, the City was incorporated in 1920 and is known for its “Old Florida” charm. Residents and visitors enjoy a tropical lifestyle full of waterfront dining, abundant shopping, and lively entertainment. The City employs approximately 800 staff and operates nine (9) recreation centers, twenty-nine (29) parks, a swimming pool, a municipal beach, and many community programs geared towards youth, teens, adults, and seniors. The City provides activities and programs for people of all ages and abilities.

The City maintains a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. At the core of the City’s strategic planning, the values of inclusion and embracing diversity are apparent across all departments. The City has developed programs and policies that support diversity, equity, and inclusion principles and ensures all City staff embody these values. One program, called Inclusion Works Business Recognition Program, encourages businesses to implement accessible and inclusionary practices while receiving recognition as being part of this program. The City also operates Barrier Free Park, which has play areas, walking paths, and recreational activities for people of all ages and abilities. The City is dedicated to continually implementing policies and programs that include diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Serving in this organization would be a rewarding experience for a fellow. Working in public service will allow the fellow to build a sense of community. Serving in a government agency like the City of Boynton Beach can bring pride and a sense of duty to ensure projects and programs meet the needs of everyone we are serving. Additionally, working for the City’s sustainability team not only protects the environment, but it creates a forward-thinking mindset to ensure that resources are preserved and available for future generations.

The fellow will gain firsthand insight into the field of sustainability in the government sector and will complete the fellowship with a solid foundation for future work in this field. The fellow will gain critical knowledge in overall sustainability, how to improve energy efficiency, and be exposed to government processes related to budget, finance, and procurement that may not always be obtained in education. Working for an organization like the City of Boynton Beach will bring the fellow a sense of accomplishment by helping the City move towards meeting aggressive sustainability goals.

Community Highlights

The City has very unique experiences that make working with this community very interesting. Each October, the City’s Ocean Avenue transforms for the Haunted Pirate Fest and Mermaid Splash. Outside of downtown, more retail therapy awaits along the Congress Avenue corridor and Renaissance Commons, while the taproom at Due South Brewing Company opens for tours and tastings of locally made craft brews. Beaches like Oceanfront Park are some of the prettiest in the area, with access to coral and artificial reefs. Jaycee Park hugs the Intracoastal Waterway with easy access for canoes, kayaks and paddleboards.

The Sustainability team itself is housed under the City’s Utilities Department. This Department provides water services to six other municipalities and parts of unincorporated Palm Beach County in addition to the City of Boynton Beach residents. This amounts to approximately 112,000 customers within the service area. The water is pumped from the East Coast Surficial Aquifer via wells of depths from 50 to 250 feet. During the dry season, so as not to over-pump the eastern wells, we rely on water from the City’s western wellfield and from previously treated water stored in two Aquifer Storage and Recovery wells.

The Utilities Department service area, while diverse, is also significantly underserved. Palm Beach County alone has 110 disadvantaged tracts. Of these 110, the City of Boynton Beach’s service area has thirteen (13) Justice40 disadvantaged tracts with a total population of 51,000 being identified as disadvantaged, which is almost half of the service area. All disadvantaged tracts meet these criteria due to climate change and several of the tracts are identified as disadvantaged due to housing, water and wastewater, workforce development, and health. Completing a project such as energy efficiency is critical to ensure that all communities exposed to the risks of climate change have the resources they need for years to come.