Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 56.45
Liaison Bambi Ingram
Submission Date Feb. 7, 2020
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Alabama at Birmingham
OP-22: Water Use

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.54 / 4.00 Julie Price
Sustainability Coordinator
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’s Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas:
Low to Medium

Part 1 

Total water use (potable and non-potable combined):
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water use --- 769,105,900 Gallons

Potable water use:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use 754,105,747 Gallons 769,105,900 Gallons

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year Oct. 1, 2017 Sept. 30, 2018
Baseline Year Oct. 1, 2010 Sept. 30, 2011

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:
UAB's Energy Mgmt Department expanded in FY 2010-2011 to include additional staff and funding for energy efficiency projects, energy conservation projects, a comprehensive energy plan, etc. We still compare every year to 2010-2011.

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users":
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 3,087 2,150
Number of employees resident on-site 6 0
Number of other individuals resident on-site and/or staffed hospital beds 1,157 1,157
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 19,254 17,543
Full-time equivalent of employees (staff + faculty) 18,691 18,619
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 4,929 0
Weighted campus users 26,692.25 28,816

Potable water use per weighted campus user:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use per weighted campus user 28,251.86 Gallons 26,690.24 Gallons

Percentage reduction in potable water use per weighted campus user from baseline:
0

Part 2 

Gross floor area of building space:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area 15,430,003 Gross square feet 14,522,174 Gross square feet

Potable water use per unit of floor area:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use per unit of floor area 48.87 Gallons per square foot 52.96 Gallons per square foot

Percentage reduction in potable water use per unit of floor area from baseline:
7.72

Part 3 

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 329 Acres 305 Acres

Total water use (potable + non-potable) per unit of vegetated grounds:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water use per unit of vegetated grounds 0 Gallons per acre 2,521,658.69 Gallons per acre

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

Optional Fields 

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:
UAB recovers waterfrom 2 sources on campus: groundwater and condensate from air handlers. These sources are collected in tanks on site and injected into our chilled water loop to reduce the amount of potable water purchased for industrial use in our cooling towers as make-up water.

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):
UAB Energy Mgmt has replaced many older plumbing fixtures with low-flow and automatic fixtures, and these are required in new construction. Also, we are replacing water-cooled vacuum pumps all over campus with more efficient pumps. Our large-scale retro-commissioning projects include updating high water-use equipment like autoclaves with more efficient, newer equipment. https://www.uab.edu/facilities/fm/energy-management

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:
---

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.