Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 47.61
Liaison Tracy Edwards
Submission Date June 12, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Frostburg State University
OP-26: Water Use

Status Score Responsible Party
-- 0.00 / 2.00 Jon Diamond
Administrative Specialist
Physical Plant
"---" 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 26,576,800 Gallons 30,129,950 Gallons

Potable water use::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use --- ---

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users"::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 1,469 ---
Number of residential employees --- ---
Number of in-patient hospital beds --- ---
Full-time equivalent enrollment --- ---
Full-time equivalent of employees --- ---
Full-time equivalent of distance education students --- ---

Gross floor area of building space::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area --- ---

Area of vegetated grounds::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds --- ---

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year --- ---
Baseline Year --- ---

A brief description of when and why the water use baseline was adopted:
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Water recycled/reused on campus, performance year:
---

Recycled/reused water withdrawn from off-campus sources, performance year: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

Frostburg State University meets these criteria by using non-potable water to irrigate its athletic fields. The university has an irrigation pond that is fed by creek water and a drilled well. The creek feeds the pond most of the year, except when the creek level and flow is affected by prolonged dry weather. When this occurs the well is used to fill the pond.


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

All buildings have water meters and are read and audited against the Campus Master meter monthly by our Plumbing Shop.


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

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

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

The Frostburg State University does follow the principles of Xeriscaping. The grounds department plans which type of plant materials are going to be used during the year. The plants that are selected have to be fairly drought tolerant and use minimal irrigation. If the soil is lacking organic material, the grounds department adds material so the soil holds more moisture. All planting beds are mulched to allow more moisture to stay in the soil. Plants are fertilized at specific times to maximize root growth. Weeds that would compete for available water are eliminated in planting beds. Perennials are selected for their tolerance to dry weather and low maintenance.

Athletic fields are maintained at 3” of height most of the year. Most of the grass clippings are returned to the field as mulch to hold moisture.


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

The University does meet the criteria by using weather-informed Irrigation. The irrigation rotation the Grounds Department uses for irrigating the athletic fields is based on attempting provide the turf with at least .25” of water per irrigation cycle. The weather is monitored daily to check for potential rainfall, wind speeds, cloud cover, and humidity. The days that the humidity is up, and the wind is calm, and there is cloud cover the irrigation may be scaled back if possible. On days when it rains more than .25” the next irrigation cycle is cancelled. If more than .5” of rain has fallen, the irrigation cycle is cancelled until soil drying and wilt are visible.

Frostburg State University does not have weather sensors to automatically adjust irrigation practices.


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:
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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.