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When local news outlets devote hundreds of words to , you know that Portland’s people are concerned about water use. Despite of – and because of – the constant flow of water into Stumptown from the clouds above, the Portland Water Bureau is increasingly looking for ways to conserve and manage water in a fiscal climate taxed by infrastructure costs and the increased water rates that come with them.

Today, the bureau announced some accomplishments in the 2011 update to its , a set of goals that is supposed to help the bureau run more efficiency. The plan attempts to streamline how the bureau manages everything from energy and water to how employees get around in vehicles.

Highlights of the bureau’s accomplishments:

• A meter shop that was remodeled and certified as a LEED gold facility
• A groundwater solar array that was completed and began operation. To check out how much energy it produces, see .
• “Green teams” that were established at the water bureau’s downtown and Interstate facilities
• A vehicle pool that was formed for managers and supervisors at Interstate. The pool reduced the number of vehicles purchased and maintained.

To see how the water bureau plans to curb inefficiencies, from wayward urniators to broken generators, view the 2011 update