Overall Rating	Silver
Overall Score	53.94
Liaison	DeLayne Miller
Submission Date	Dec. 15, 2022

STARS v2.2

Tennessee Technological University
OP-21: Water Use

Status

Score

Responsible Party

1.03 / 4.00

DeLayne Miller
Sustainability Manager
Facilities: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:

Low to Medium

Part 1. Reduction in potable water use per person

Total water withdrawal (potable and non-potable combined):

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal	125,691,100 Gallons	123,476,500 Gallons

Potable water use:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use	125,691,100 Gallons	123,476,500 Gallons

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):

	Start Date	End Date
Performance Period	July 1, 2021	June 30, 2022
Baseline Period	July 1, 2011	June 30, 2012

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:

The baseline of FY12 was adopted because this is the earliest there is complete utility data that is not archived.

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users":

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site	2,252	2,514
Number of employees resident on-site	15	75
Number of other individuals resident on-site	0	0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment	8,392	9,586
Full-time equivalent of employees	1,176.32	1,154
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education	352.18	250
Weighted campus users	7,478.86	8,514.75

Potable water use per weighted campus user:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use per weighted campus user	16,806.20 Gallons	14,501.48 Gallons

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

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	3,373,556 Gross square feet	3,040,356 Gross square feet

Potable water use per unit of floor area:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use per unit of floor area	37.26 Gallons per square foot	40.61 Gallons per square foot

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

8.26

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

Area of vegetated grounds:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds	1,158.04 Acres	967.54 Acres

Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds	108,537.79 Gallons per acre	127,619.01 Gallons per acre

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

14.95

Optional Fields

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

The Office of Sustainability gives out reusable water bottles each semester to promote reduction in plastic bottle use. They have also designed and posted stickers in the bathrooms of resident halls that encourage students to turn off the faucet while brushing their teeth. Further, the Office has installed hydration stations in indoor and outdoor areas on campus which allow students to refill their water bottles as opposed to purchasing plastic bottles. There is also a Green Pledge available on the home page of the website of the Office of Sustainability, which encourages students to go green on campus, including by reducing their water consumption. During March of 2019, the Office of Sustainability hosted its first annual Water Week. During this week, over one hundred reusable water bottles were given out to students, a World Water Day was hosted, and a film screening concerning the water bottle industry was shown. Over one hundred students signed our pledge to say no to single-use plastic water bottles for at least one month in order to help keep our local watershed free of plastics. During Earth Week, another 100+ students signed our pledge to not use straws for at least one month.

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

There are numerous self-watering planters around campus that aid in water use reduction. The new intramural facility has a storm water management system. Pervious pavement allows rainwater to flow through it and deposit into a rain garden. This will protect water quality and decrease flooding by reducing the amount of storm water runoff. There is a drainage system under the sand volleyball court and the runoff from it flows into the berms and permeable pavement. Then it is captured in rain gardens and monitored by students through the monitoring station.

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

All water fountains are replaced with bottle refill stations that monitor water use and plastic water bottle savings. Low flow fixtures decrease the rate of water flow and subsequently the amount of water wasted per minute. They are installed in all buildings renovated in the last five years and in all new buildings such as the LEED Certified Lab Science Commons.

Website URL where information about the institution’s water conservation and efficiency efforts is available:

https://www.tntech.edu/sustainability/water-projects.php

Additional documentation to support the submission:

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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

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