Overall Rating	Silver
Overall Score	64.13
Liaison	Michael Kensler
Submission Date	Feb. 4, 2022

STARS v2.2

Auburn University
OP-21: Water Use

Status

Score

Responsible Party

3.36 / 4.00

Scott McClure
Energy Engineer
Energy Management

"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Level of ”Physical Risk Quantity” for the institution’s main campus as indicated by the World Resources Institute Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas:

Low

Part 1. Reduction in potable water use per person

Total water withdrawal (potable and non-potable combined):

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal	1,266,586.83 Cubic meters	1,529,392.70 Cubic meters

Potable water use:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use	1,266,586.83 Cubic meters	1,529,392.70 Cubic meters

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):

	Start Date	End Date
Performance Period	Oct. 1, 2019	Sept. 30, 2020
Baseline Period	Oct. 1, 2009	Sept. 30, 2010

If end date of the baseline year/period is 2004 or earlier, provide:

A brief description of when and why the water use baseline was adopted:

Fiscal year 2010 serves as the baseline for the university's formally adopted water reduction goals and was adopted in 2017 when the Facilities Management Energy Reduction strategy was updated and republished.

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users":

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site	4,621	3,825
Number of employees resident on-site	0	0
Number of other individuals resident on-site	0	0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment	26,701	22,556
Full-time equivalent of employees	5,343	4,841
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education	811	341
Weighted campus users	24,580	21,248.25

Potable water use per weighted campus user:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use per weighted campus user	51.53 Cubic meters	71.98 Cubic meters

Percentage reduction in potable water use per weighted campus user from baseline:

28.41

Part 2. Reduction in potable water use per unit of floor area

Gross floor area of building space:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Gross floor area	1,181,741.77 Gross square meters	886,201.72 Gross square meters

Potable water use per unit of floor area:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use per unit of floor area	1.07 Cubic meters per square meter	1.73 Cubic meters per square meter

Percentage reduction in potable water use per unit of floor area from baseline:

37.90

Part 3. Reduction in total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds

Area of vegetated grounds:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds	548.75 Hectares	548.75 Hectares

Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds	2,308.12 Cubic meters per hectare	2,787.03 Cubic meters per hectare

Percentage reduction in total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds from baseline:

17.18

Optional Fields

A brief description of the institution's water-related behavior change initiatives:

The Office of Sustainability conducts a variety of outreach efforts through its student intern program and its employee Peers Network program. Typical yearly efforts tied to water conservation include social media messaging, Earth Month activities, office strategy checklists, posters, and messages shared through tabling at events around campus. The office also features water management information on its new employee education material and on its website for both Living at AU and Working at AU. In addition, the university has a utility dashboard available for nearly all buildings on campus, which includes water usage for each building.

A brief description of the institution's water recovery and reuse initiatives:

One 500-gallon and 3 connected 55-gallon cisterns that harvest rainwater from a building roof are currently in place at the Davis Arboretum. The rainwater captured is used to refill the Little Cahaba exhibit or to water plants. In a bog at the arboretum are an underground 1400 gallon tank and a 1700 gallon above ground tank installed in early 2011. Both use water captured from the shed/outdoor classroom roof to operate the water feature and keep the bog hydrated. The underground tank has a pump that is powered by a solar panel; the above-ground tank uses gravity. Other cisterns are installed at the AU Raptor Center, and the Architecture Shop Building. In addition, we have implemented rainwater capture for irrigation at the Central Dining Facility and for greywater flushing at the Advanced Structural Engineering Laboratory.

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to replace plumbing fixtures, fittings, appliances, equipment, and systems with water-efficient alternatives:

Current design standards call for all new and major renovation projects to utilize low fixtures and flush valves. In addition, when a repair is performed low flow fixtures are utilized.

Website URL where information about the institution’s water conservation and efficiency efforts is available:

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Additional documentation to support the submission:

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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

In addition to the strategies outlined above, the university has also invested in automated monitoring/alarm systems to help detect leaks in almost real-time, improved district energy plant operations, and upgraded irrigation systems, which taken together have generated a large amount of the water savings reported.

Additional information related to historical and current utility usage, including water, can be accessed through the Utilities & Energy Department of Facilities Management at: http://www.auburn.edu/administration/facilities/organization/operations/utilities-energy/energy-analysis.html