| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 70.82 |
| Liaison | Rochelle Owen |
| Submission Date | Jan. 7, 2015 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Dalhousie University
OP-26: Water Use
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Level of water risk for the institution’s main campus:
Total water use (potable and non-potable combined)::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total water use | 749,436.17 Cubic meters | 1,168,228.53 Cubic meters |
Potable water use::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Potable water use | 748,336.05 Cubic meters | 1,168,228.53 Cubic meters |
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users"::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of residential students | 2,169 | 2,259 |
| Number of residential employees | 9 | 5 |
| Number of in-patient hospital beds | 0 | 0 |
| Full-time equivalent enrollment | 15,794 | 14,164 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 7,106 | 6,497 |
| Full-time equivalent of distance education students | 240 | 160 |
Gross floor area of building space::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Gross floor area | 420,896.39 Square meters | 397,913.40 Square meters |
Area of vegetated grounds::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Vegetated grounds | 13.72 Hectares | 13.72 Hectares |
Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
| Start Date | End Date | |
| Performance Year | April 1, 2013 | March 31, 2014 |
| Baseline Year | April 1, 2009 | March 31, 2010 |
A brief description of when and why the water use baseline was adopted:
Water recycled/reused on campus, performance year:
Recycled/reused water withdrawn from off-campus sources, performance year:
A brief description of any water recovery and reuse systems employed by the institution:
There is a cistern to collect non-potable water in the Mona Campbell and Le Marchant Place buildings. Rain water cisterns will be added in new buildings. Also there have been retrofits of large research water units to recycle water (Aquatron).
A brief description of any water metering and management systems employed by the institution:
Dalhousie's campus buildings have water meters. Monitoring has been enhanced by the addition of pulse duplicators to building water meters to feed near time data back to building automation system to diagnosis problems and track savings.
A brief description of any building retrofit practices employed by the institution, e.g. to install high efficiency plumbing fixtures and fittings:
Dalhousie has a number of water consumption reduction initiatives including - projects such as adding sensors to older urinal tanks, purchasing low flow fixtures and toilets for new buildings, water drip surveys, retrofitting existing fixtures in retrofit projects.
A brief description of any policies or programs employed by the institution to replace appliances, equipment and systems with water-efficient alternatives:
Dalhousie has a number of water consumption reduction initiatives including - projects such as adding sensors to older urinal tanks, purchasing low flow fixtures and toilets for new buildings, water drip surveys, retrofitting existing fixtures in retrofit projects.
In the future a number of projects are planned including retrofitting water-cooled equipment that dumps water to drain and completing a comprehensive water fixture audit.
A brief description of any water-efficient landscape design practices employed by the institution (e.g. xeriscaping):
Landscape are designed to be drought tolerant (xeriscaping techniques) and low maintenance through the selection of plant material and incorporation of organic matter (i.e. water holding capacity in soil).
We also collect rain water and storm water using vegetated soils, rain gardens, and green roofs.
A brief description of any weather-informed irrigation technologies employed by the institution:
Dalhousie does not use irrigation technologies on managed ground on campus
A brief description of other water conservation and efficiency strategies employed by the institution:
Supporting reduction of bottled water through activities such as passing of the water pledge, installing new water fountains that have easy access to reusable bottles, holding bottle-free events, testing potable water, and promoting water jugs in catering.
The website URL where information about the institution’s water conservation and efficiency initiatives is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Dalhousie has implemented a number of water efficiency projects such as recirculating water for major research process and installing urinal tank controllers. The university is also working on a number of new initiatives. The success of the projects can be seen in a significant reduction of water from the baseline year (2009-2010). This baseline year is used in our University Sustainability Plan to compare progressive targets to for water, energy, GHGs. This year is when accurate data could be reliably accessed.
This information includes the Halifax campuses. The NS Agriculture College merged with Dalhousie in September 2012. At that time a project was put in place to meter water coming to the campus. This campus 1/10 the size of the Halifax campuses will be included in the next STARS report for this category.
Dalhousie has implemented a number of water efficiency projects such as recirculating water for major research process and installing urinal tank controllers. The university is also working on a number of new initiatives. The success of the projects can be seen in a significant reduction of water from the baseline year (2009-2010). This baseline year is used in our University Sustainability Plan to compare progressive targets to for water, energy, GHGs. This year is when accurate data could be reliably accessed.
This information includes the Halifax campuses. The NS Agriculture College merged with Dalhousie in September 2012. At that time a project was put in place to meter water coming to the campus. This campus 1/10 the size of the Halifax campuses will be included in the next STARS report for this category.
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.