Overall Rating	Gold
Overall Score	79.54
Liaison	Kelli O'Day
Submission Date	June 20, 2023

STARS v2.2

University of California, Davis
OP-21: Water Use

Status

Score

Responsible Party

2.94 / 4.00

Kelli O'Day
Assessment Program Manager
Office of 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 Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas:

Low to Medium

Part 1. Reduction in potable water use per person

Total water withdrawal (potable and non-potable combined):

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal	923,405,075 Gallons	1,131,403,666 Gallons

Potable water use:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use	655,810,715 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, 2021	June 30, 2022
Baseline Period	July 1, 2005	June 30, 2008

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:

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	14,471	5,114
Number of employees resident on-site	0	0
Number of other individuals resident on-site	344	0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment	33,387	26,255
Full-time equivalent of employees	9,532	9,182
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education	494	0
Weighted campus users	35,780.50	27,856.25

Potable water use per weighted campus user:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use per weighted campus user	18,328.72 Gallons	28,917.64 Gallons

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

36.62

Part 2. Reduction in potable water use per unit of floor area

Gross floor area of building space:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Gross floor area	13,933,790 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	47.07 Gallons per square foot	82.77 Gallons per square foot

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

43.14

Part 3. Reduction in total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds

Area of vegetated grounds:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds	1,120.80 Acres	1,288 Acres

Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds	823,880.33 Gallons per acre	878,419.00 Gallons per acre

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

6.21

Optional Fields

A brief description of the institution's water-related behavior change initiatives:

Student Housing and Dining Services runs 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 2021-22, UC Davis achieved a 19% reduction in absolute quantities of potable water use against a baseline of fiscal years 2005/06-2007/08. And, the campus achieved a 37% 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:

In fiscal year 2021/22, over 29 million gallons of recycled water (recovered from wastewater effluent) were used in cooling towers on campus, offsetting over 39 percent of the total amount of water that would have previously been met by potable supplies. 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 the cooling towers at the Thermal Energy Storage (TES) Plant. Since this recycled water project began in 2015, nearly 210 million gallons of recycled water have been used at the cooling towers. Recycled water use at TES is currently on pause as the campus Wastewater Treatment Plant recently replaced its UV disinfection system. Recycled water use at TES will resume upon approval by the Regional Water Quality Control Board.

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to replace plumbing fixtures, fittings, appliances, equipment, and systems with water-efficient alternatives:

Campus Utilities regularly monitors metered water usage across campus to identify potential leaks or other issues. Automated reports are generated twice a week and give notice of potentially faulty meters. Total water use is also reviewed monthly for abnormally high use that could indicate a leak. Any potential issues are communicated with appropriate facility staff to be rectified.

UC Davis Facilities Management, with the help of an Energy Systems graduate student, has created an inventory on autoclaves in order to identify autoclaves that are good candidates for retrofits.

Website URL where information about the institution’s water conservation and efficiency efforts is available:

https://sustainability.ucdavis.edu/goals/water

Additional documentation to support the submission:

OP21_SupportingDocs_UCD20.pdf

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 may be accessed at: https://sustainability.ucdavis.edu/resources

Additional information may be found at: https://sustainability.ucdavis.edu/goals/water

This credit was compiled by Syed Muhammad Ahsan Abbas, a Humphrey Fellow affiliated with the UC Davis Sustainability office.