Groundskeepers at some Washoe County schools will soon be harder to detect as the roar of their lawn mowers and leaf blowers will be replaced by quieter battery-powered equipment. About 25% of the district’s gas-powered grounds equipment will be replaced with electric versions using a nearly $250,000 grant from Northern Nevada Public Health’s Air Quality Management Division.
NNPH’s Board of Health approved the funding for the school district in late September, and Washoe County School District trustees will hear more about the funding during their board meeting on Oct. 22. Meanwhile, district officials are already making plans.
District groundskeeping staff said they plan to replace 72 mowers, 29 edgers, 41 string trimmers, 63 backpack blowers, 38 handheld blowers, two chainsaws and four hedge trimmers with the funds. The switch will mean using less gasoline, making fewer trips to purchase the gas, needing fewer replacement parts and saving hundreds of hours of labor in maintenance and repairs.
The goal for NNPH is less about financial savings and more about improving local air quality.
“Recent data shows that Washoe County is in jeopardy of violating the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for Ozone,” Air Quality Division Manager Francisco Vega wrote in a memo to the NNPH board. “A major contributor to ozone pollution is the combustion of fuel in vehicles and equipment.”
Vega said gas-powered lawn and garden equipment contribute to ozone formation by emitting volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, and nitrogen oxides, which react in sunlight to form ozone. Portable gasoline containers and refueling are additional sources of VOCs. NNPH’s Lawn and Garden Exchange Project aims to “improve air quality for the children and citizens of Washoe County and protect public health for all.”
In addition to air quality improvements, battery-powered lawn equipment is on average about 20 decibels quieter than gas-powered versions and can be easier to maneuver.
“Our groundskeepers are excited with the new equipment weighing less than gas-powered and the reduction of sound transferring into the classrooms,” WCSD’s Chad Hartley said.
Once the board of trustees discusses the equipment purchase at its October meeting, groundskeepers will be trained on operating the new equipment and begin using it later in the school year.
WCSD began adding electric school buses to its fleet in October 2023, a move toward more environmentally-friendly and sustainable transportation.
