Mesa Laundromat Lauded as 2020 Santa Barbara Water HeroLalo and Maribel Rivera, owners of Mesa Laundromat.Click to view largerLalo and Maribel R...
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network
Lalo and Maribel Rivera, owners of Mesa Laundromat.Click to view larger
Lalo and Maribel Rivera, owners of Mesa Laundromat. (Courtesy photo)
Every year, the Santa Barbara Water Conservation Program honors an individual, business or organization that has gone above and beyond in their water conservation efforts and serves as an example of resource efficiency in the community.
The Mesa Laundromat has been awarded the 2020 Water Hero Award for significantly reducing water usage through upgrades to their washing machines. The Mesa Laundromat has been a part of the Mesa neighborhood for 25 years and the current owners, Maribel and Lalo Rivera, have owned it for five years.
“Since we took over we have been welcomed by the Santa Barbara community and the Mesa, we’ve got great customers who have been coming here for years,” said Maribel Rivera.
Due to city and statewide drought conditions, the Riveras were motivated to look for opportunities to save water at their business.
“During the drought, we noticed that water levels were going down and we wanted to do our share, and we felt that this was the best way that we could contribute to the city,” said Maribel Rivera.
In November 2018 the Riveras replaced 17 of their washing machines with newer, more efficient models. The old washers used an average of 60 gallons of water per load; the new high-efficiency washers use an average of 12 gallons per load.