Overall Rating	Gold - expired
Overall Score	72.63
Liaison	Karen Oberer
Submission Date	Aug. 22, 2016
Executive Letter	Download

STARS v2.1

McGill University
OP-22: Water Use

Status

Score

Responsible Party

0.29 / 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’s Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas:

Low to Medium

Part 1

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

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Total water use	1,732,000 Cubic meters	1,800,000 Cubic meters

Potable water use:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use	1,732,000 Cubic meters	1,800,000 Cubic meters

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

	Start Date	End Date
Performance Year	May 1, 2015	April 30, 2016
Baseline Year	Jan. 1, 2014	Dec. 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 water use baseline was adopted in 2014 when the Ministry of Education required all postsecondary institutions to establish a water use baseline.

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users":

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site	3,260	3,122
Number of employees resident on-site	15	15
Number of other individuals resident on-site and/or staffed hospital beds	0	0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment	32,225.60	31,755
Full-time equivalent of employees (staff + faculty)	6,750	6,979
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education	32	32
Weighted campus users	30,026.45	29,810.75

Potable water use per weighted campus user:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use per weighted campus user	1,732,000 Cubic meters	1,800,000 Cubic meters

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

4.47

Part 2

Gross floor area of building space:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Gross floor area	876,704 Gross square meters	891,994 Gross square meters

Potable water use per unit of floor area:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use per unit of floor area	48.49 Cubic meters per square meter	49.53 Cubic meters per square meter

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

2.10

Part 3

Does the institution wish to pursue Part 3 of this credit? (reductions in total water use per acre/hectare of vegetated grounds):

Area of vegetated grounds:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds	1 Hectares	1 Hectares

Total water use (potable + non-potable) per unit of vegetated grounds:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Total water use per unit of vegetated grounds	185,162,580.31 Cubic meters per hectare	192,432,242.81 Cubic meters per hectare

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

3.78

Optional Fields

A brief description of the institution's water-related behavior change initiatives, e.g. initiatives to shift individual attitudes and practices such as signage and competitions:

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

The new Life Sciences Complex is taking advantage of rainwater harvesting and grey water technologies to divert roof water and other clean water waste (e.g. from the ventilation system) into a 50,000 L cistern. As much as possible, it is this diverted water that is then used to flush the toilets and urinals in the buildings. This reduces the amount of clean drinking water being used. It also reduces the amount of storm water running off the roof, entering the sewer system, and needing to be treated at Montreal’s wastewater treatment plant. The Life Sciences Complex also has a green roof on the top of the Goodman Cancer Research wing, as does the Macdonald Engineering building. Instead of a traditional roof covering such as shingles or tar and gravel, a large section of the roof is divided into raised beds containing plants. These plants are either self-seeding annuals or perennials such as sedum, chives, iris, blue fescue, and others. Green rooftops help to absorb rain and melt water so that less water is running off the roof, entering the sewer system, and needing to be treated at the city’s wastewater treatment station. Green rooftops also absorb less heat than a traditional roof, reducing the amount of energy needed to cool a building throughout the summer.

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to replace plumbing fixtures, fittings, appliances, equipment, and systems with water-efficient alternatives (e.g. building retrofits):

The university has been busy installing low-flow toilets and showerheads, as well as automatic faucets in many of the bathrooms on the downtown campus. Low-flow showerheads have also been installed in the residences, which has decreased water usage by an estimated 58,000 L per day. The university is making such water-saving fixtures standard in renovations and new construction. The university has also experimented with waterless urinals. McGill's construction and renovation standards for water-consuming equipment is more stringent than LEED requirements.

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:

https://www.mcgill.ca/waterislife/wateratmcgill/conserving-water

Additional documentation to support the submission:

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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

2016 FTE's taken from http://www.mcgill.ca/provost/files/provost/doc_university_budgetbook_2015_2016_v20150709gj.pdf The reporting period for this credit ends in 2016, hence the difference in FTEs between this credit and IC 3.