Chris Eppler is known in Canyons School District as a champion for the environment. Now, CSD’s Energy Conservation Specialist has caught the attention of the Utah chapter of the Association of Energy Engineers.

Eppler has been chosen as a recipient of the 2015 Energy Champion Award. The award recognizes his outstanding achievement and contributions to the field of energy efficiency. Eppler’s efforts have saved taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars in reduced energy bills and “resulted in better learning environments for thousands of children,” according to the Association. Eppler will be recognized and give a presentation of Canyons’ accomplishments at a luncheon hosted by the organization in celebration of his achievement.  

Eppler’s efforts also extend to water conservation — and training for tomorrow’s conservationists. Eppler and a team of students in summer 2015 received water conservation training from the Irrigation Training and Research Center at California Polytechnic State University, San Louis Obispo. The students learned how to track water usage data and use the information to adjust sprinklers and water cycles to save CSD tens of thousands of gallons of water. The efforts were supported by a grant from the Central Utah Water Conservancy District. Eppler’s work subsequently was recognized by the Utah Governor’s Office of Energy Development as an “Energy Success Story.”