| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 48.61 |
| Liaison | Kristina Bryan |
| Submission Date | Feb. 26, 2015 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Saint Louis University
OP-26: Water Use
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.04 / 2.00 |
Brandon
Verhoff Director Sustainability & Benchmarking |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
None
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 | 293,037,976 Gallons | 348,066,092 Gallons |
None
Potable water use::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Potable water use | 293,037,976 Gallons | 348,066,092 Gallons |
None
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users"::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of residential students | 3,868 | 3,843 |
| Number of residential employees | 20 | 17 |
| Number of in-patient hospital beds | 0 | 0 |
| Full-time equivalent enrollment | 11,919 | 12,222 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 5,292 | 5,217 |
| Full-time equivalent of distance education students | 1,282 | 0 |
None
Gross floor area of building space::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Gross floor area | 5,902,428 Square feet | 5,559,419 Square feet |
None
Area of vegetated grounds::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Vegetated grounds | 267 Acres | 265 Acres |
None
Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
| Start Date | End Date | |
| Performance Year | July 1, 2013 | June 30, 2014 |
| Baseline Year | July 1, 2012 | June 30, 2013 |
None
A brief description of when and why the water use baseline was adopted:
A 2013 baseline was established based on goals set forth by the University to reduce water consumption (gallons/campus acre) by 20% by 2020 over the 2013 baseline year. Therefore, data and knowledge about initiatives occurring between these time periods can be reported which may influence fluctuations in water consumption.
None
Water recycled/reused on campus, performance year:
---
None
Recycled/reused water withdrawn from off-campus sources, performance year:
---
None
A brief description of any water recovery and reuse systems employed by the institution:
Rainworks stormwater management garden, also known as Best Management Practices (BMP) garden installed in 2014, contains three 50 gallon rain barrels with an overflow option. These are used for drip irrigation to water the surrounding plants.
None
A brief description of any water metering and management systems employed by the institution:
Facilities Services tracks and records consumption data across individual building and groups of buildings.
Individual metered building data is provided by the local utility provider. Saint Louis University is in the process of sub-metering more individual buildings in order to collect and analyze data on building clusters. For example, some individually metered buildings include Doisy Research Center, Il Monastero Banquette Center, Litteken Hall (office building), and Beracha Hall (a classroom facility).
None
A brief description of any building retrofit practices employed by the institution, e.g. to install high efficiency plumbing fixtures and fittings:
Use of auto-flow/auto-flush valves are determined on a project-by-project basis.
Low flow plumbing fixtures, low flow valves or aerators are installed on existing fixtures whenever possible.
None
A brief description of any policies or programs employed by the institution to replace appliances, equipment and systems with water-efficient alternatives:
Facilities Planning & Construction standard for manual bathroom faucets meet EPA WaterSense criteria and the automatic faucets meet CALGreen (California Green Building Code) criteria.
Standard washers on campus have a 3.6 Water Factor based on EPA Energy Star. The lower the Water Factor the more efficient the washer.
Standard dishwashers available in some student housing are 19% better than US Federal Standards (5 gallons/cycle). This model uses 4.07 gallons/cycle.
None
A brief description of any water-efficient landscape design practices employed by the institution (e.g. xeriscaping):
Rainworks stormwater management garden, also known as BMP (Best Management Practice) garden, was installed in April 2014 outside Busch Student Center in an area prone to erosion and flooding. The garden affected 5,800 square feet of impervious surface and is estimated to redirect 13,000 cubic feet of water from the combined sewer system. The BMP garden includes 3 rain barrels, 2 biorentention areas and a pervious path.
As part of the construction of SLU’s Doisy Research Center in 2008, approximately 7,200 square feet of vegetative roof was installed on the 212,000 square foot building. The roof is an extensive system (4”) and is planted with five (5) varieties of sedum. These varieties were chosen based on their survival capacity and adaptability to a vegetative roof environment in the Midwest (Missouri) climate.
In addition, Grounds Services uses more sustainable grasses, like Fescue, in new installations. Fescue grasses are drought tolerant, require less fertilizer, develop a deep root system and are more heat resistant. This type of grass also requires less chemical application to treat and maintain. New Installations include: Medical Center Recreation Stadium, Chaifetz Arena, Education Union, & Doisy Research Center.
None
A brief description of any weather-informed irrigation technologies employed by the institution:
All irrigation systems separate turf zones from shrub and perennial zones to eliminate unnecessary and wasteful watering. SLU also utilizes a central control irrigation management system to help reduce water usage.
SLU utilizes RainBird’s Maxicom2 Multi-Site Central Controls Systems on campus. This system monitors local weather data including evapotranspiration rates to determine if irrigation is required. The Maxicom2 system also employs four rain cans to monitor daily rainfall and suspend or cancel irrigation based on predetermined thresholds.
None
A brief description of other water conservation and efficiency strategies employed by the institution:
Facilities Services has been investigating partnership with Parks College of Aviation and Engineering to evaluate the possibilities of water conservation. One particular project under investigation is the collection of rainwater runoff from one of the University's parking garages which could be used to fill the nearby man-made ponds located on campus.
The University also utilizes the installation of water saving technologies; low-flow faucets, shower heads, urinals and toilets.
None
The website URL where information about the institution’s water conservation and efficiency initiatives is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Unfortunately, the data entered for STARS v1.0 1,923,241 gallons water consumption was reported in error. Water consumption for FY10 was 2,598,649 gallons.
Our reporting has gotten much more detailed and increased in accuracy over the past few years, especially as it pertains to data surrounding sustainability.
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.