Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 75.01
Liaison Jen Crothers
Submission Date Aug. 4, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of British Columbia
OP-26: Water Use

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.43 / 3.00 Bud Fraser
Water and Zero Waste Engineer
Campus & Community Planning
"---" 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 806,266,185 Gallons 869,454,795 Gallons

Potable water use::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use 806,266,185 Gallons 869,454,795 Gallons

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users"::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 9,465 8,295
Number of residential employees 0 0
Number of in-patient hospital beds 0 0
Full-time equivalent enrollment 43,509 38,200
Full-time equivalent of employees 13,387 12,461
Full-time equivalent of distance education students 903 925

Gross floor area of building space::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area 15,440,970 Square feet 13,648,880 Square feet

Area of vegetated grounds::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds 410 Acres 410 Acres

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year April 1, 2013 March 31, 2014
Baseline Year April 1, 2007 March 31, 2008

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

The water consumption baseline (Fiscal Year 2007/08) was adopted to closely align with UBC’s Climate Action Plan baseline.


Water recycled/reused on campus, performance year:
0 Gallons

Recycled/reused water withdrawn from off-campus sources, performance year:
0 Gallons

A brief description of any water recovery and reuse systems employed by the institution:

A living machine style wastewater reuse system and a rainwater harvesting system were installed as part of the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS) building, to supply non-potable and potable water respectively. In the performance year these systems were still in an extended commissioning phase. At the Buchanan buildings, a rainwater harvesting system for irrigation was installed, which is also completing commissioning. Other rainwater harvesting systems are being explored for new buildings on campus.


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

All of UBC's Ancillary Units (e.g. student housing, conference and athletics facilities) are metered for water consumption. These meters are read on a regular basis so that these users can be billed. In addition, approximately 60 of UBC's Core buildings are metered for water consumption. These buildings are not billed; however, they are monitored to identify trends and conservation opportunities.


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

Student Housing has been upgrading student residences with higher efficiency water fixtures as part of renovations, and has planned future efficiency retrofits as part of its housing renewal plan. New higher efficiency fixture requirements were introduced into UBC’s Technical Guidelines, applicable to all new construction and renovation projects.


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

Typically, as equipment reaches end of life, more water-efficient versions will be used for replacement wherever possible. UBC’s technical guidelines also prohibit future use of once-through (open loop) cooling; replacement of existing open loop cooling systems is being pursued wherever opportunities can be identified.


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

UBC encourages our consultants to apply principles of xeriscaping to areas of new planting on campus, giving special consideration to soil amendments, efficient irrigation, plant and zone selection, and mulch.


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

Most landscape irrigation is controlled by timer systems. However, some irrigation systems utilize rain sensors. An analysis was conducted in 2013 to assess the benefits of rain sensors, with a resulting proposal to retrofit 28 irrigation systems with rain sensors to reduce water consumption and operating costs.


A brief description of other water conservation and efficiency strategies employed by the institution:

UBC is continuing to develop a Water Conservation Action Plan to build on our water conservation achievements to date and guide our water management activities in the future.

UBC continues to retrofit existing buildings to increase water efficiency in academic buildings, student housing and research labs to enhance water conservation. Retrofit projects completed in 2013/14 include replacing old cooling equipment with higher efficiency equipment in the Geosciences (old Earth and Ocean Sciences) Building, estimated to save 450,000 gallons of water annually. Student Housing and Hospitality Services (SHHS) also completed a number of water efficiency upgrades to student residences, as part of their five-year Building Retrofit and Upgrade Schedule.

For new construction and major renovations for institutional buildings at UBC, the water efficiency requirements in LEED must be met. In addition, for residential buildings in the neighbourhoods, we updated the Residential Environmental Assessment Program (REAP 3.0) to require higher efficiency toilets, faucets, showerheads, laundry machines and dishwashers. In 2013/14 UBC also updated design standards in UBC Technical Guidelines to require higher efficiency fixtures, faucets and toilets for all projects, including those outside of LEED and REAP certification, ensuring all new buildings on campus will be built to higher water efficiency standards.

In addition to saving energy and reducing GHG emissions, upgrading our Academic District Energy System (ADES) from steam to hot water will also lead to increased water conservation and will save 36 million gallons of water annually when completed, equivalent to saving 54 Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of water each year.


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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