Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.57
Liaison Derek Nichols
Submission Date Sept. 16, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University at Buffalo
OP-26: Water Use

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.27 / 3.00 Don Erb
Director, Residential Facilities
Campus Living
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Level of water risk for the institution’s main campus:
Low to Medium

Total water use (potable and non-potable combined)::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water use 342,428,000 Gallons 338,227,000 Gallons

Potable water use::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use 342,428,000 Gallons 338,227,000 Gallons

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users"::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 7,600 7,450
Number of residential employees 220 220
Number of in-patient hospital beds 0 0
Full-time equivalent enrollment 27,536 25,158
Full-time equivalent of employees 7,608 8,424
Full-time equivalent of distance education students 0 0

Gross floor area of building space::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area 11,104,407 Square feet 10,427,776 Square feet

Area of vegetated grounds::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds 28,516,466 Acres 28,943,296 Acres

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, 2008 June 30, 2009

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

2009 was the year that the University released it's Climate Action Plan. It is useful by comparing that baseline year to see the impact of our physical growth on the metrics.


Water recycled/reused on campus, performance year:
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Recycled/reused water withdrawn from off-campus sources, performance year:
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A brief description of any water recovery and reuse systems employed by the institution:

Retention ponds outside Davis hall provide irrigation to onsite plantings. At Greiner Hall, non-potable water from Lake Lasalle is used for irrigation.


A brief description of any water metering and management systems employed by the institution:

UB uses smart meters, which makes it easy to see if there is some sort of issue in a certain building based on the readings. Each building remains mostly constant in water usage, so if there is a spike in water usage for a certain building, that building will be investigated to identify issues.


A brief description of any building retrofit practices employed by the institution, e.g. to install high efficiency plumbing fixtures and fittings:

It is a practice to install low flow showerheads and faucets in building retrofits as well as specify them and low flow toilets in new construction.


A brief description of any policies or programs employed by the institution to replace appliances, equipment and systems with water-efficient alternatives:

The University looks to install the most efficient appliances and equipment in its buildings as a matter of practice.


A brief description of any water-efficient landscape design practices employed by the institution (e.g. xeriscaping):

UB promotes the use of drought tolerant plantings for new and upgraded landscaping projects, particularly in rain gardens which have become more prevalent on campus in recent years. Contractors are encouraged to develop plans using such plantings in order to reduce the need for irrigation. UB does relatively little artificial irrigation on campus.


A brief description of any weather-informed irrigation technologies employed by the institution:

Most irrigation done on campus is turned on and off manually. There are few automatic or timed irrigation systems, therefore weather sensors are unnecessary. the groundskeepers that manage the irrigation do so with weather forecasts in mind. They regularly check weather forecasts and past rainfall to determine how much, if any, irrigation is necessary. One exception is at Greiner Hall which is irrigated from Lake LaSalle, and artificial lake on the campus. This location does employ timers and/or moisture sensing.


A brief description of other water conservation and efficiency strategies employed by the institution:
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The website URL where information about the institution’s water conservation and efficiency initiatives is available:
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.