Overall Rating	Gold
Overall Score	73.19
Liaison	Ryan Todd
Submission Date	April 30, 2024

STARS v2.2

California State University, Sacramento
OP-21: Water Use

Status

Score

Responsible Party

2.67 / 4.00

"---" 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 to Medium

Part 1. Reduction in potable water use per person

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

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal	573,679,596 Gallons	146,907,755.45 Gallons

Potable water use:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use	57,513,303 Gallons	75,514,353.30 Gallons

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

	Start Date	End Date
Performance Period	July 1, 2022	June 30, 2023
Baseline Period	Aug. 1, 2013	July 31, 2014

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:

The performance year was chosen based on the most recent 12 month fiscal period prior to starting work on the STARS report. The baseline year was determined by choosing the 12 month period prior to completing the first STARS assessment.

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users":

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site	2,200	1,700
Number of employees resident on-site	7	49
Number of other individuals resident on-site	0	0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment	26,261	24,237
Full-time equivalent of employees	3,332	1,801
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education	2,581	12,372
Weighted campus users	20,810.75	10,686.75

Potable water use per weighted campus user:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use per weighted campus user	2,763.63 Gallons	7,066.17 Gallons

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

60.89

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	6,100,509 Gross square feet	5,166,951 Gross square feet

Potable water use per unit of floor area:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use per unit of floor area	9.43 Gallons per square foot	14.61 Gallons per square foot

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

35.49

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

Area of vegetated grounds:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds	170 Acres	169 Acres

Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds	3,374,585.86 Gallons per acre	869,276.66 Gallons per acre

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

-288.21

Optional Fields

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

---

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

LID is the sustainability term for managing stormwater; it involves treating runoff close to its source, incorporating existing infrastructure to optimize feasibility, and enhancing pollutant load reduction through stormwater infiltration, retention, and treatment. The types of LID BMPs installed include bioretention planters, rain gardens, and compost-amended bioswales all of which remove pollutants from runoff through various treatment mechanisms such as sedimentation, filtration, infiltration, and adsorption.

Stormwater runoff captured from the eastern side of campus is pumped through the levee and into the river without any treatment. Walk onto the bridge until you reach the first tower, look down on the right side to see the six discharge pipes sticking out of the ground. The concrete pavement below the pipes prevents erosion when runoff is being discharged. The pump station is located in the yellow building behind you. Here's a short video of the discharge in action.

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

To research methods to reduce water, energy, and total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on campus, Sac State Sustainability and Facilities Management partnered with students on a research project that resulted in an over $700k grant from the Department of Water Resources. The initial goal of the student project was to replace manual faucets with automatic, infrared (IR) faucets throughout the campus. However, with a lack of non-biased research, the sustainability team worked with the student group to conduct a research study. Over four months and three separate phases, research was conducted in a heavily-used building on campus to compare manual faucets to automatic faucets with .05 and .35 aerators. The results showed a water reduction of between 30% and 50% when automatic faucets were used with a .35 aerator instead of manual faucets, creating the basis for the successful grant submission. With funding from the Department of Water Resources, the campus replaced approximately 600 faucets, 200 showerheads, 10 washing machines, 11 ice makers, a steam cooker, and countless other fixtures with Energy Star-rated appliances. These replacements resulted in annual savings of $40,000 and over 5 million gallons of water, and turn, Sac State students, faculty, and staff now contribute to reducing the campus's total GHG emissions by simply washing their hands and using other energy-efficient water fixtures on campus.

Through a recent project, 589 faucets, 144 showerheads, 85 shower valves, and several dishwashers and clothes washers have been replaced with more water-efficient appliances. Infrared faucets were installed, and showerheads with flow rates of 2.5gpm were replaced with 1.5gpm. Previously, the majority of toilets and urinals have been replaced with water-efficient fixtures.

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

---

Additional documentation to support the submission:

---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

https://www.csus.edu/experience/innovation-creativity/sustainability/_internal/sustainability-report-print-reduced.pdf
https://www.owp.csus.edu/lid/site/lot-7-infiltrating-bioswale.html
https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiNTNlZDc5MmUtZDFiZC00MzFmLTg5NDYtNTdlNmI0ZjA0YzZlIiwidCI6ImI2YjQ5MDAxLThiM2YtNDNmYS05OWExLTcwNmU4YzdlMzU5OCIsImMiOjZ9&pageName=ReportSection