Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 66.69
Liaison Margaret Lo
Submission Date Dec. 16, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Ball State University
OP-26: Water Use

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.00 / 2.00 James Lowe
Associate Vice President for Facilities Planning and Management
Facilities Planning & Managment
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Level of water risk for the institution’s main campus:
Low

Total water use (potable and non-potable combined)::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water use 289,033,184 Gallons 278,154,140 Gallons

Potable water use::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use 289,033,184 Gallons 278,154,140 Gallons

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users"::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 6,752 7,122
Number of residential employees 0 0
Number of in-patient hospital beds 0 0
Full-time equivalent enrollment 18,255 18,831
Full-time equivalent of employees 3,206 2,992
Full-time equivalent of distance education students 1,462 2,612

Gross floor area of building space::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area 6,950,415 Square feet 7,180,726 Square feet

Area of vegetated grounds::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds 1,140.63 Acres 1,140.63 Acres

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year July 1, 2014 June 30, 2015
Baseline Year July 1, 2012 June 30, 2013

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

3-year performance period.


Water recycled/reused on campus, performance year:
0 Gallons

Recycled/reused water withdrawn from off-campus sources, performance year:
0 Gallons

A brief description of any water recovery and reuse systems employed by the institution:

None at this time.


A brief description of any water metering and management systems employed by the institution:

Most of the academic, administrative, auxiliary and residential buildings have building-level water meters provided by the Indiana American Water Company, which measure the amount of flow from the water main into the building plumbing system.


A brief description of any building retrofit practices employed by the institution, e.g. to install high efficiency plumbing fixtures and fittings:

LEED Certified Buildings (9 to date)
All contain water saving technologies; low-flow fixtures, etc.


A brief description of any policies or programs employed by the institution to replace appliances, equipment and systems with water-efficient alternatives:

In conjunction with planned renovations done to LEED Standards.


A brief description of any water-efficient landscape design practices employed by the institution (e.g. xeriscaping):

When landscapes are designed and installed on campus careful consideration is made for each plant selected. Aesthetics, space, location, maintenance, and future plans all play a part in the selection process. Once the design is completed and installed all plants receive supplemental watering throughout the first year. From the second year and beyond supplemental watering occurs only when necessary to maintain plant health and vigor. Additionally, none of the campus landscape beds have irrigation systems except the annual flower beds which are limited on campus.


A brief description of any weather-informed irrigation technologies employed by the institution:

Ball State University has several campus locations that contain turf irrigation systems. (i.e., Emens Auditorium, Music Instruction Building, E.B. Ball, Bracken House, Beneficence, Shafer Tower). All systems have rain sensors that turn off the system when soil moisture levels reach adequate levels. Control timers are set to do the watering in the early morning, and all systems are inspected once a month to maintain the system and repair any damaged heads. Sports Facilities also have comparable irrigation systems to care for the athletic fields.


A brief description of other water conservation and efficiency strategies employed by the institution:

Rainwater collection for planter watering
5000 gallon capacity - no record of actual water collection quantity available.
Water conservation is not a high priority in this region.


The website URL where information about the institution’s water conservation and efficiency initiatives is available:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.