| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 74.81 |
| Liaison | Kelli O'Day |
| Submission Date | March 6, 2020 |
University of California, Davis
OP-21: Water Use
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.86 / 4.00 |
Camille
Kirk Director of Sustainability and Campus Sustainability Planner Office of Sustainability |
Level of ”Physical Risk Quantity” for the institution’s main campus as indicated by the World Resources Institute Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas:
Total water withdrawal (potable and non-potable combined):
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total water withdrawal | 805,002,420 Gallons | 1,131,403,666 Gallons |
Potable water use:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Potable water use | 573,250,323 Gallons | 805,537,000 Gallons |
Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
| Start Date | End Date | |
| Performance Period | July 1, 2018 | June 30, 2019 |
| Baseline Period | July 1, 2005 | June 30, 2008 |
A brief description of when and why the water use baseline was adopted:
The UC Sustainable Practices Policy requires campuses to use a baseline of the averaged three-year period from 2005-06 through 2007-08 (fiscal year) for water use reporting. We continue that practice in this STARS credit.
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users":
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 10,491 | 5,114 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site | 340 | 0 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 34,008 | 26,255 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 11,443 | 9,182 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 0 | 0 |
| Weighted campus users | 37,051 | 27,856.25 |
Potable water use per weighted campus user:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Potable water use per weighted campus user | 15,471.93 Gallons | 28,917.64 Gallons |
Percentage reduction in potable water use per weighted campus user from baseline:
Gross floor area of building space:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Gross floor area | 13,541,776 Gross square feet | 9,732,420 Gross square feet |
Potable water use per unit of floor area:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Potable water use per unit of floor area | 42.33 Gallons per square foot | 82.77 Gallons per square foot |
Percentage reduction in potable water use per unit of floor area from baseline:
Area of vegetated grounds:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Vegetated grounds | 1,254 Acres | 1,288 Acres |
Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds | 641,947.70 Gallons per acre | 878,419.00 Gallons per acre |
Percentage reduction in total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds from baseline:
A brief description of the institution's water-related behavior change initiatives:
Student Housing and Dining Services run an Energy and Water Conservation competition in the residence halls (see the UC Davis response to credit EN-5: Outreach Campaigns for more information).
UC Davis has posted Report Leaks stickers in every restroom near the faucets (see the UC Davis response to credit EN-4 for more information).
In fiscal year 2018-19, UC Davis achieved a 29% reduction in absolute quantities of potable water use against a baseline of fiscal years 2005/06-2007/08. And, the campus achieved a 46% reduction in per capita potable water use against the same baseline. The campus has grown in population while reducing water consumption.
A brief description of the institution's water recovery and reuse initiatives:
UC Davis owns and operates a wastewater treatment plant on the Davis campus. This facility treats wastewater generated on campus to meet Title 22 tertiary treatment standards for recycled water. The recycled water is fully permitted for reuse. The campus applies a small amount of the recycled water on landscapes at the WWTP, and the main reuse application for the recycled water is for cooling tower use. The remaining recycled water is discharged to the Arboretum Waterway. Recycled water improves the water quality at the Arboretum Waterway, especially during the summer months when inflows to the waterway – primarily a stormwater detention pond for the campus – are minimal.
Recycled water used in cooling towers on campus reduced the demand for potable water by more than 17 million gallons in fiscal year 2018/19. This recycled water project began in 2015, during the peak of the most recent drought, when Utilities staff extended the recycled water line from the Arboretum Waterway to two of the four cooling towers at the Thermal Energy Storage (TES) Plant. In June 2019, the recycled water pipe was further extended to the remaining two cooling towers at TES and the supply pump upsized to handle the increased demand. Since this recycled water project began in 2015, nearly 130 million gallons of recycled water have been used at the cooling towers.
Two campus buildings, the Jackson Sustainable Winery Building and the Robert Mondavi Institute Brewery, Winery, and Food Pilot Facility, harvest rainwater for toilet flushing, process water, and landscape irrigation. Rainwater is harvested from a roof space of nearly 60,000 square feet and stored in 10 tanks with a total volume of over 620,000 gallons.
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to replace plumbing fixtures, fittings, appliances, equipment, and systems with water-efficient alternatives:
UC Davis strives to reduce water usage. New buildings are designed with high-efficiency, low water use fixtures. For our existing older buildings, some of which date back to the early 1900’s, each year UC Davis Facilities Management Plumbing staff replace high-flow fixtures through deferred maintenance or work orders. The Davis campus has nearly 750 buildings in the “core campus” area, where the majority of the campus population is active. See uploaded support documentation for data regarding retrofitted fixtures.
Website URL where information about the institution’s water conservation and efficiency efforts is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
For the area of vegetated grounds, we removed the footprint of buildings and non-vegetated surfaces, the area used to grow feed crops, and the experimental agricultural lands. We included the Student Farm because that 23 acre parcel is in Central Campus and actively used for student and public engagement, even though it is also used for food production.
The Davis campus potable water quantity is less than the total water quantity because the campus uses non-potable groundwater for landscape irrigation, as well as recycled water from our wastewater treatment plant. UC Davis is a registered small water supplier and the campus provides ground and surface water supplies for campus uses.
UC Davis maintains a Water Action Plan, which will be updated once the campus completes a Water Systems Study, which is expected to be completed in spring 2020. The current plan may be accessed at:
http://sustainability.ucdavis.edu/local_resources/docs/drought_response_action_plan_april_2014.pdf
Additional information may be found at: http://sustainability.ucdavis.edu/progress/water/index.html.
For the area of vegetated grounds, we removed the footprint of buildings and non-vegetated surfaces, the area used to grow feed crops, and the experimental agricultural lands. We included the Student Farm because that 23 acre parcel is in Central Campus and actively used for student and public engagement, even though it is also used for food production.
The Davis campus potable water quantity is less than the total water quantity because the campus uses non-potable groundwater for landscape irrigation, as well as recycled water from our wastewater treatment plant. UC Davis is a registered small water supplier and the campus provides ground and surface water supplies for campus uses.
UC Davis maintains a Water Action Plan, which will be updated once the campus completes a Water Systems Study, which is expected to be completed in spring 2020. The current plan may be accessed at:
http://sustainability.ucdavis.edu/local_resources/docs/drought_response_action_plan_april_2014.pdf
Additional information may be found at: http://sustainability.ucdavis.edu/progress/water/index.html.
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.