Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 59.94
Liaison Samuel Crowl
Submission Date Aug. 11, 2021

STARS v2.2

Ohio University
OP-21: Water Use

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.70 / 4.00 Elaine Goetz
Director of Energy Management
Facilities Management & Safety
"---" 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 to Medium

Total water withdrawal (potable and non-potable combined):
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal 220,494,581 Gallons 245,515,000 Gallons

Potable water use:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use 208,886,000 Gallons 230,244,000 Gallons

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Period July 1, 2018 June 30, 2019
Baseline Period July 1, 2011 June 30, 2012

A brief description of when and why the water use baseline was adopted:

FY12 was the oldest readily available data for total water use.


Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users":
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 6,875 7,495
Number of employees resident on-site 26 20
Number of other individuals resident on-site 19 0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 22,632 23,859
Full-time equivalent of employees 3,823 3,239
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 3,411 2,259
Weighted campus users 19,027.25 20,508

Potable water use per weighted campus user:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use per weighted campus user 10,978.25 Gallons 11,227.03 Gallons

Percentage reduction in potable water use per weighted campus user from baseline:
2.22

Gross floor area of building space:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area 8,130,798 Gross square feet 7,963,155 Gross square feet

Potable water use per unit of floor area:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use per unit of floor area 25.69 Gallons per square foot 28.91 Gallons per square foot

Percentage reduction in potable water use per unit of floor area from baseline:
11.15

Area of vegetated grounds:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds 1,605 Acres 1,344 Acres

Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds 137,379.80 Gallons per acre 182,674.85 Gallons per acre

Percentage reduction in total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds from baseline:
24.80

A brief description of the institution's water-related behavior change initiatives:

Campus community members are encouraged to contact Facilities if they notice leaks.


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

The university now shuts down the steam system each May to make infrastructure improvements, including repairing leaks in steam condensate return systems. This effort has saved millions of gallons of water that were previously leaked out of the condensate system.

When the university golf course was renovated in 2002, a pond was constructed on the golf course for irrigation purposes. This pond is the primary source of irrigation water for all Ohio University athletic fields. A well beneath the pond is used as a back-up source of water.

Cisterns with captured rainwater are used at the compost facility for the majority of their operational water usage. Rain barrels are used at the OHIO Ecohouse for gardening.


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

All building renovations must conform to Ohio Plumbing Code standards, section 401.3 (Water conservation), which dictate low consumption plumbing fixtures and fittings.

All building renovations above $2 million must also conform to LEED silver requirements which have a prerequisite to employ strategies that in aggregate use 20% less water than the water use baseline.

The university has a ban on installation of new potable water systems for irrigation. All new landscaping is expected to not require irrigation after establishment.


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 provided by Elaine Goetz, Director of Energy Management and Sustainability, 1/14/20.

Non-potable water meter data from "irrigation meter.xlsx" file in HVAC Controls shared drive. Entered by Elaine Goetz on 7/16/21 and verified by Jeremy Daniels, Plumbing Shop Manager on 7/28/21.

Vegetated grounds data from Matt Riley, GIS Technician, 2/25/20. He took a polygon of all OHIO owned property, then subtracted the acreages from the following sources: impervious surfaces, airport runway, water bodies, parking lots, roads, sidewalks, and building footprints.


Potable water data provided by Elaine Goetz, Director of Energy Management and Sustainability, 1/14/20.

Non-potable water meter data from "irrigation meter.xlsx" file in HVAC Controls shared drive. Entered by Elaine Goetz on 7/16/21 and verified by Jeremy Daniels, Plumbing Shop Manager on 7/28/21.

Vegetated grounds data from Matt Riley, GIS Technician, 2/25/20. He took a polygon of all OHIO owned property, then subtracted the acreages from the following sources: impervious surfaces, airport runway, water bodies, parking lots, roads, sidewalks, and building footprints.

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.