Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 69.58
Liaison Derek Nichols
Submission Date Dec. 14, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University at Buffalo
OP-22: Water Use

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.43 / 4.00 Sean Brodfuehrer
Senior Architectural Planner
Campus Planning
"---" 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’s Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas:
Low to Medium

Total water use (potable and non-potable combined):
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water use 337,830,830 Gallons 338,227,000 Gallons

Potable water use:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use 337,830,830 Gallons 338,227,000 Gallons

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year July 1, 2016 June 30, 2017
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.


Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users":
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 7,712 7,450
Number of employees resident on-site 0 220
Number of other individuals resident on-site and/or staffed hospital beds 0 0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 29,194 25,158
Full-time equivalent of employees (staff + faculty) 6,420 8,424
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 318 0
Weighted campus users 28,400 27,104

Potable water use per weighted campus user:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use per weighted campus user 11,895.45 Gallons 12,478.86 Gallons

Percentage reduction in potable water use per weighted campus user from baseline:
4.68

Gross floor area of building space:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area 10,970,240 Gross square feet 10,427,776 Gross square feet

Potable water use per unit of floor area:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use per unit of floor area 30.80 Gallons per square foot 32.44 Gallons per square foot

Percentage reduction in potable water use per unit of floor area from baseline:
5.06

Does the institution wish to pursue Part 3 of this credit? (reductions in total water use per acre/hectare of vegetated grounds):
Yes

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

Total water use (potable + non-potable) per unit of vegetated grounds:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water use per unit of vegetated grounds 11.85 Gallons per acre 11.69 Gallons per acre

Percentage reduction in total water use per unit of vegetated grounds from baseline:
0

A brief description of the institution's water-related behavior change initiatives, e.g. initiatives to shift individual attitudes and practices such as signage and competitions:
---

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

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 the institution's initiatives to replace plumbing fixtures, fittings, appliances, equipment, and systems with water-efficient alternatives (e.g. building retrofits):

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.


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
---

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Please note: the performance year used, July 1, 2016 - June 31, 2017 was the most recent data available. As such, the demographic information provided does not correlate to IC 3 and IC 2 data.


Please note: the performance year used, July 1, 2016 - June 31, 2017 was the most recent data available. As such, the demographic information provided does not correlate to IC 3 and IC 2 data.

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.