Overall Rating Bronze
Overall Score 41.51
Liaison Lori Chance
Submission Date May 16, 2024

STARS v2.2

Messiah University
OP-21: Water Use

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.16 / 4.00 Brandon Hoover
Director of Sustainability
Operations
"---" 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

Total water withdrawal (potable and non-potable combined):
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal 29,876,993 Gallons 37,008,000 Gallons

Potable water use:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use 28,258,500 Gallons 36,778,000 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 July 1, 2007 June 30, 2008

A brief description of when and why the water use baseline was adopted:
Baseline year of fiscal year 2008 was chosen because this is the year that Messiah conducted in first GHG inventory and signed the Climate Commitment

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users":
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 1,945 2,426
Number of employees resident on-site 14 14
Number of other individuals resident on-site 14 14
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 3,231 2,794
Full-time equivalent of employees 682 650
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 385 0
Weighted campus users 3,149.75 3,207

Potable water use per weighted campus user:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use per weighted campus user 8,971.66 Gallons 11,468.04 Gallons

Percentage reduction in potable water use per weighted campus user from baseline:
21.77

Gross floor area of building space:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area 1,587,703 Gross square feet 1,317,672 Gross square feet

Potable water use per unit of floor area:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use per unit of floor area 17.80 Gallons per square foot 27.91 Gallons per square foot

Percentage reduction in potable water use per unit of floor area from baseline:
36.23

Area of vegetated grounds:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds 46 Acres 46 Acres

Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds 649,499.85 Gallons per acre 804,521.74 Gallons per acre

Percentage reduction in total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds from baseline:
19.27

A brief description of the institution's water-related behavior change initiatives:
The college has not done as much to address individual behavior changes; however, many of the efforts involved installing low flow shower heads or taking vegetative space (grass) out of watering and mow production.

A brief description of the institution's water recovery and reuse initiatives:
The campus garden uses water collection to water its garden and collects over 2,000 gallons of water each year

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

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:
Potable water data -
FY2023 - Suez water - 28,258,500 gallons of billable potable water used on campus

Other water - SRBC (water pulled from the yellow breeches)
SRBC - Susquehanna River Basin Commission - Data on non-potable water pulled from the Yellow Breeches
FY2023 - 1,618,493 gallons pulled from the yellow breeches

Messiah is given a permit to pull water from the Yellow Breeches Creek which runs through campus. it is used for irrigating athletic fields and other vegetative spaces. This makes the total water use much higher.

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.