Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 69.28
Liaison Austin Eriksson
Submission Date Feb. 29, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

California State University, Northridge
IN-1: Innovation 1

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Austin Eriksson
Sustainability Program Manager
FPDC
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Title or keywords related to the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:
Irrigation Efficiency Project
+ Date Revised: April 7, 2016

A brief description of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome :

The California State University has mandated water conservation targets for all CSU’s that states: “All CSU campuses will pursue water resource conservation to reduce water consumption by 10 percent by 2016, and 20 percent by 2020 including such steps to develop sustainable landscaping, install controls to optimize irrigation water use, reduce water usage in restrooms and showers, and promote the use of reclaimed/recycled water. In the event of a declaration of drought, the CSU will cooperate with the state, city, and county governments to the greatest extent possible to reduce water use.” In an effort to meet these ambitious goals, CSU Northridge has pursued options for water conservation such as plumbing fixture replacement as well as facility and operations improvements. The University has made huge strides in improving how we irrigate our landscape, which is a large portion of our water consumption.
The goal of the project was to modify an existing irrigation system to maximize the functionality. In doing so, we modified each of the 63 controllers to receive bi-directional communication capabilities, including evapotranspiration (ET), weather station connectivity, flow sensors and master valves. System status updates are readily available and easy to view by the irrigation crew.

+ Date Revised: April 7, 2016

A brief description of any positive measurable outcomes associated with the innovation (if not reported above):

This project is saving the campus approximate 2.5 million gallons annually. We have been able to reduce our total campus water consumption by 22% in just over a year form this project as well as several other landscaping projects.

+ Date Revised: April 7, 2016

A letter of affirmation from an individual with relevant expertise:
Which of the following STARS subcategories does the innovation most closely relate to? (Select all that apply up to a maximum of 5):
Yes or No
Curriculum No
+ Date Revised: April 7, 2016
Research Yes
Campus Engagement Yes
Public Engagement ---
Air & Climate ---
Buildings ---
Dining Services ---
Energy ---
Grounds Yes
Purchasing ---
Transportation ---
Waste No
+ Date Revised: April 7, 2016
Water Yes
+ Date Revised: April 7, 2016
Coordination, Planning & Governance ---
Diversity & Affordability ---
Health, Wellbeing & Work ---
Investment ---

Other topic(s) that the innovation relates to that are not listed above:
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The website URL where information about the innovation is available :
http://prezi.com/ve-h4kxm1rjc/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share
+ Date Revised: April 7, 2016

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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