LAUSD eco sustainability chief outlines pilots to cut water, energy and waste

Christos Cruilio, LAUSD’s chief eco sustainability officer, told the Greening Schools and Climate Resilience Committee that the district is moving several pilot projects from study into implementation to reduce energy, water and waste costs and boost campus resilience.

Cruilio said the office has been benchmarking data and setting priorities for a final district sustainability plan, with a targeted completion in July of next year. “The data is clear. Extreme heat, water scarcity, environmental burdens are not abstract threats,” the committee chair opened; Cruilio framed the office’s work as operational steps to address those burdens.

The presentation covered multiple initiatives. Cruilio described a soil‑amendment pilot on athletic fields that uses small hydrogel beads injected 3–6 inches into turf root zones; the pilot reduced irrigation by roughly 40% at the test site. Cruilio said the application cost was about $26,700 and that the site realized about $27,000 in first‑year savings, with an accumulated multi‑year savings near $110,000 at that site. “Our return on investment was within year one,” he said. Committee members asked whether resurfacing would destroy the hydrogels; Cruilio said hydrogels sit below typical resurfacing depths and that field maintenance approaches can be adjusted to retain benefits.

On water recycling, the office said nine candidate sites were identified and five already take recycled water for irrigation; one site’s annual utility cost for recycled water was cited at about $126,000. Cruilio urged locking in recycled‑water pricing and executing agreements promptly so savings are preserved as costs change.

Cruilio also summarized the district’s long‑running partnership with DWP/LWP and the direct‑install (DI) program. He described prior DI activity (roughly 57 school projects converting to LED over the last five years) and said an expanded portfolio of about 37 projects has been identified for near‑term implementation, with some work scheduled for winter breaks to minimize disruption.

On power management, Cruilio outlined a virtual power‑plant pilot with the Electric Power Research Institute that will install a gateway and controls at two pilot schools (Maywood Academy and Maywood Center for Enriched Studies) to aggregate solar, EV and mechanical systems for centralized operation; the funding cited for that effort was roughly $2.6 million. The goal is to reduce unnecessary weekend and off‑hours consumption by coordinating systems remotely.

Waste‑reduction pilots include food‑waste composting trials, e‑waste strategies for device upgrades, and work with food services to identify baseline waste flows before scaling. Cruilio said some compost pilots began at about a dozen sites and will expand with additional grants.

Cruilio flagged board actions adopted earlier this year on heat resilience — including accelerating heat‑pump installations, interim cooling (shade, hydration stations, portable units) and prohibiting new artificial turf at early education sites — and described plans to pilot micro‑grids at select campuses so schools can serve as community shelters in crises.

Committee members pressed on funding sources (maintenance funds, bond contributions, utility partnership funds) and on how the office will translate pilots into standards and long‑term budgets. Cruilio said the office will continue monthly updates and that consultants selected for climate literacy and workforce curricula will help scale training and career pathway opportunities tied to projects.

The office provided multiple cost and scale figures (including the hydrogel pilot costs and DI/LED project counts), which Cruilio attributed to site audits and pilot evaluations. The committee did not take formal action in the session; members asked for additional details on pilot site lists, selection criteria and long‑term funding allocations.

Next steps: the Eco Sustainability Office will continue implementing pilots, share monthly progress reports, refine specifications for pilot technologies, and work with facilities and finance teams to identify sustained funding as the draft plan moves toward a July finalization date.