Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 53.65
Liaison Mike Harrington
Submission Date Dec. 17, 2021

STARS v2.2

The New School
OP-21: Water Use

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.86 / 5.00 Mike Harrington
Assistant Director
Tishman Environment & Design Center
"---" 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 132,952.26 Cubic meters 158,835.64 Cubic meters

Potable water use:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use 132,952.26 Cubic meters 158,835.64 Cubic meters

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Period July 1, 2018 July 1, 2019
Baseline Period July 1, 2014 July 1, 2015

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

FY2015 was resolved to be a universal baseline for energy, water and waste infrormation. There are several reasons- first, while data exists prior to this period, an engineer was hired in FY2015 to manage data tracking, so the quality is known to be high. Second, this was the first year of publishing an annual sustainability report, which fully details this data, trends, and supporting projects.


Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users":
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 1,742 1,754
Number of employees resident on-site 6 6
Number of other individuals resident on-site 50 47
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 9,636 9,266
Full-time equivalent of employees 2,727 1,927
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 363 221
Weighted campus users 9,487 8,716

Potable water use per weighted campus user:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use per weighted campus user 132,952.26 Cubic meters 158,835.64 Cubic meters

Percentage reduction in potable water use per weighted campus user from baseline:
23.10

Gross floor area of building space:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area 164,117.96 Gross square meters 127,029.62 Gross square meters

Potable water use per unit of floor area:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use per unit of floor area 0.81 Cubic meters per square meter 1.25 Cubic meters per square meter

Percentage reduction in potable water use per unit of floor area from baseline:
35.21

Area of vegetated grounds:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds 0 Hectares 0 Hectares

Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds 132,952.26 Cubic meters per hectare 158,835.64 Cubic meters per hectare

Percentage reduction in total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds from baseline:
16.30

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

The university was part of the NYC Department of Environmental Protection Water Challenge along with 5 other universities in the city. The New School was able to reduce its usage by 5%.


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

Largest building on campus (365k.sq.ft./1.4M) has a blackwater and greywater recycling plant, in addition to a green roof and rainwater holding tank. Mechanical system metering is underway to better track and detect leaks in mechanical equipment.


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

We are upgrading water fixtures (faucets, water closets, etc.) with low-flow water-sense models. We have completed three upgrade projects in large buildings (making up around 250k.sq.ft.) during the past two years, including a dormitory. There are general plans to continue these retrofits throughout the remaining campus.


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:

The weighted campus users for


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