Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 66.43
Liaison Greg Maginn
Submission Date June 30, 2023

STARS v2.2

The Ohio State University
OP-21: Water Use

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Greg Maginn
Sustainability Analyst
FOD
"---" 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 983,738,932 Gallons 1,518,723,492 Gallons

Potable water use:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use 983,738,932 Gallons 1,518,723,492 Gallons

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Period July 1, 2020 June 30, 2021
Baseline Period July 1, 2012 June 30, 2013

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

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users":
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 14,756 10,970
Number of employees resident on-site 460 282
Number of other individuals resident on-site 1,182 1,237
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 55,967.21 51,849.16
Full-time equivalent of employees 32,772.09 26,058.01
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 18,408 900
Weighted campus users 57,734.47 61,805.38

Potable water use per weighted campus user:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use per weighted campus user 17,039.02 Gallons 24,572.68 Gallons

Percentage reduction in potable water use per weighted campus user from baseline:
30.66

Gross floor area of building space:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area 29,031,136 Gross square feet 23,134,879 Gross square feet

Potable water use per unit of floor area:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use per unit of floor area 33.89 Gallons per square foot 65.65 Gallons per square foot

Percentage reduction in potable water use per unit of floor area from baseline:
48.38

Area of vegetated grounds:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds 1,665 Acres 1,531 Acres

Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds 590,834.19 Gallons per acre 991,981.38 Gallons per acre

Percentage reduction in total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds from baseline:
40.44

A brief description of the institution's water-related behavior change initiatives:
A water resource engineer within facilities, operations, and development at the University leads a team of student interns to conduct water audits at buildings across the campus. These audits compare the projected water usage to the actual performance of a building and include talking to maintenance staff about best practices for conserving water.

A brief description of the institution's water recovery and reuse initiatives:
Ohio State has several rain gardens on campus. The oldest active rain garden on campus is located behind Jennings Hall. The Jennings Hall rain gardens consist of 22 vegetated boxes. This form of green infrastructure helps filter and slow the runoff from storm events by filtering the rainwater from the roof of Jennings Hall, storing it in a 50,000 gallon cistern, and finally discharging the stormwater through a vegetated bioswale to the area storm sewers. A pumping system allows the stored water within the cistern to be used for supplementary irrigation during dry periods. This system not only filters the storm water, but it provides retention and opportunity for storm water reuse. Other rain gardens include the traffic circle at Cunz Hall and curb inlets around the Spirit of Women park.

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to replace plumbing fixtures, fittings, appliances, equipment, and systems with water-efficient alternatives:
In 2019 the University performed a leak detection survey utilizing acoustic technology. The survey detected two major leaks and several smaller ones throughout campus. The subsequent repairs have saved over 50 million gallons a year.

The University recently adopted a new set of building design standards (BDS) that focus on a results based approach. The standards set a target WUI that design teams must meet and hold building operators accountable to that target once the project has been completed.

Within the BDS there are also several standards related to low flow fixtures and large appliances that use water.

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