Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 60.56
Liaison Mari Acob-Nash
Submission Date Oct. 30, 2021

STARS v2.2

North Seattle College
OP-21: Water Use

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.59 / 5.00 Adam Maurer
District Sustainability Coordinator
Finance and Ops
"---" 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:
Medium to High

Part 1. Reduction in potable water use per person 

Total water withdrawal (potable and non-potable combined):
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal 7,600,207.79 Gallons 6,561,911.69 Gallons

Potable water use:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use 7,600,207.79 Gallons 6,561,911.69 Gallons

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Period Jan. 1, 2016 Dec. 31, 2016
Baseline Period Jan. 1, 2008 Dec. 31, 2008

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:
As a state agency, the Seattle Colleges (including North Seattle College) are required to report annual greenhouse gas emissions in compliance with the State Agency Climate Leadership Act. This act, passed in 2008, established greenhouse gas baseline dates and greenhouse gas reduction targets for all state agencies (2005 baseline for Seattle Colleges). However, we have set our GHG, energy, and water baseline as 2008 for STARS considering the following; 1) this act was not passed until 2008, 2) we did not actively track or take any significant actions to mitigate our GHG emissions or utility usage until 2008, and 3) data reporting and tracking was not systematized until 2008.

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users":
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 0 0
Number of employees resident on-site 0 0
Number of other individuals resident on-site 0 0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 3,485 3,912.20
Full-time equivalent of employees 483 499.60
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 106.60 112.70
Weighted campus users 2,896.05 3,224.33

Potable water use per weighted campus user:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use per weighted campus user 2,624.34 Gallons 2,035.13 Gallons

Percentage reduction in potable water use per weighted campus user from baseline:
0

Part 2. Reduction in potable water use per unit of floor area

Gross floor area of building space:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area 653,167 Gross square feet 504,219 Gross square feet

Potable water use per unit of floor area:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use per unit of floor area 11.64 Gallons per square foot 13.01 Gallons per square foot

Percentage reduction in potable water use per unit of floor area from baseline:
10.59

Part 3. Reduction in total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds 

Area of vegetated grounds:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds 32 Acres 32 Acres

Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds 237,506.49 Gallons per acre 205,059.74 Gallons per acre

Percentage reduction in total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds from baseline:
-15.82

Optional Fields 

A brief description of the institution's water-related behavior change initiatives:
Water efficiency practices are included in the Best Practices brochures, which are given out during tabling events. Eco-Challenge in October promotes best sustainability practices, including water conservation. Roof water collection for toilet flushing in the HSSR LEED Gold building includes signage. There are total 8 stations of water filling bottle through out campus, reduce greatly the amount of plastic water bottle waste going to landfill.

A brief description of the institution's water recovery and reuse initiatives:
The OCE&E Building which is LEED Gold certified, incorporate a rainwater collection system on the roof, that routes to a cistern, and subsequently supplies flushing toilets within the HSSR building.

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to replace plumbing fixtures, fittings, appliances, equipment, and systems with water-efficient alternatives:
A small number of toilets on campus are sensored activated. Two waterless urinals are installed in the men's bathroom in the Arts and Science buidling. They are manufactured for by the Falcon Water-free technologies.

Website URL where information about the institution’s water conservation and efficiency efforts is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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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.