Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 49.64
Liaison Adam Maurer
Submission Date March 31, 2021

STARS v2.2

Seattle Central College
OP-21: Water Use

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.21 / 5.00 Adam Maurer
District Sustainability Coordinator
Office of Sustainability
"---" 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

Total water withdrawal (potable and non-potable combined):
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal 1,451,968.80 Gallons 1,533,506.50 Gallons

Potable water use:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use 1,451,968.80 Gallons 1,533,506.50 Gallons

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Period Jan. 1, 2019 Dec. 31, 2019
Baseline Period Jan. 1, 2017 Dec. 31, 2017

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

As a state agency, the Seattle Colleges (including Seattle Central 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 and energy 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. However, Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) changed their water reporting in 2016. We now have to gather invoices and calculate usage and expenses manually. When we started doing that in the middle of 2016, our water usage was significantly lower than historic numbers directly from SPU reports. We have selected 2017 as the new baseline, because in 2017 and since we are using the same methodology to collect data.


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 4,728.30 4,478.56
Full-time equivalent of employees 902.50 838.78
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 39.10 19.92
Weighted campus users 4,193.78 3,973.07

Potable water use per weighted campus user:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use per weighted campus user 346.22 Gallons 385.98 Gallons

Percentage reduction in potable water use per weighted campus user from baseline:
10.30

Gross floor area of building space:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area 1,029,832 Gross square feet 1,020,639 Gross square feet

Potable water use per unit of floor area:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use per unit of floor area 1.41 Gallons per square foot 1.50 Gallons per square foot

Percentage reduction in potable water use per unit of floor area from baseline:
6.16

Area of vegetated grounds:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds 15 Acres 15 Acres

Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds 96,797.92 Gallons per acre 102,233.77 Gallons per acre

Percentage reduction in total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds from baseline:
5.32

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

n/a


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

Specifically in regards to water conservation, Seattle Central has taken several steps to act on that statement. Replacement of standard plumbing fixtures with low flow faucets, toilets, and urinals. We also recently installed glycol in our heating and cooling loops so that we no longer drain those systems in the winter time (sending water down the drain) and requiring those loops to be refilled again in the spring time. That saves approximately 10K gallons each cycle.


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.