Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 52.10
Liaison Ciara Tennis
Submission Date Jan. 11, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Eastern Connecticut State University
OP-26: Water Use

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.24 / 4.00 Renee Theroux-Keech
Interim Director
Office of Facilities Management & Planning
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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Level of water risk for the institution’s main campus:
Medium to High

Total water use (potable and non-potable combined)::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water use 5,693,880 Gallons 5,851,076 Gallons

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Potable water use::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use 5,693,880 Gallons 5,851,076 Gallons

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Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users"::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 2,547 2,628
Number of residential employees 12 12
Number of in-patient hospital beds 0 0
Full-time equivalent enrollment 4,777 5,440
Full-time equivalent of employees 759 744
Full-time equivalent of distance education students 481 440

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Gross floor area of building space::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area 2,288,256 Square feet 2,288,256 Square feet

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Area of vegetated grounds::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds 126.47 Acres 126.47 Acres

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Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year July 7, 2014 July 9, 2015
Baseline Year June 7, 2013 June 6, 2014

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A brief description of when and why the water use baseline was adopted:
We decided to get the last two years of water data that were available since this is the first time we are utilizing water data within our campus's data collection methodologies.

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Water recycled/reused on campus, performance year:
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Recycled/reused water withdrawn from off-campus sources, performance year:
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A brief description of any water recovery and reuse systems employed by the institution:
In the Science building there is a grey water system utilized which uses non-potable water to flush toilets.

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A brief description of any water metering and management systems employed by the institution:
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A brief description of any building retrofit practices employed by the institution, e.g. to install high efficiency plumbing fixtures and fittings:
Eastern has low flow shower heads for residence halls. All residence hall faucets and toilets are low flow. As fixtures need to be replaced they are replaced with low flow features. All toilet and urinals on campus are low flow. In the Science Building there are also waterless urinals.

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A brief description of any policies or programs employed by the institution to replace appliances, equipment and systems with water-efficient alternatives:
Within the Science Building and three of the dormitories there are waterless urinals. Each waterless urinal saves an average of 40,000 gallons (151,000 liters) of fresh, potable water each year. That’s the equivalent of 3 large, home swimming pools. The fuel cell on campus at the Science building is designed to operate in water balance, the fuel cell requires no consumption or discharge of water under normal operations. The fuel cell saves over 3.8 million gallons of water annually—enough water to fill nearly six Olympic swimming pools. Eastern's heat plant used to use water to cool down, but now utilizes air to cool down conserving water.

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A brief description of any water-efficient landscape design practices employed by the institution (e.g. xeriscaping):
In front of Eastern's Science Building there is a bioswale which includes native vegetation, pervious pavement and rainwater collection system of troughs. At one of the lower points on campus during rain events, storm water runs off toward the Science Building and is slowed down by planted vegetation on steep slopes, pervious pavement and bioswale collection. Eastern's landscape is designed to enhance native plants which require less energy intensive practices, low to no-use of fertilizers, and incorporates storm water management practices throughout. From adding vegetative surfaces into parking areas, to added vegetation on steep slopes, there are few places on campus that experience flooding.

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A brief description of any weather-informed irrigation technologies employed by the institution:
Eastern has rain sensors installed on irrigation systems around campus. This means that there is no over-watering or water wasted during rainy times.

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A brief description of other water conservation and efficiency strategies employed by the institution:
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The website URL where information about the institution’s water conservation and efficiency initiatives is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Total water usage data was collected from Sue Kennedy, and facts about the fuel cell were verified from case studies about the fuel cell energy use etc from ISE. Vegetated grounds = Total campus area 181.94 acres - Footprint of Buildings 55.47 acres = 126.47 acres

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