Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 66.07
Liaison Breeana Sylvas
Submission Date Feb. 25, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of California, Merced
OP-26: Water Use

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.29 / 4.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Level of water risk for the institution’s main campus:
Medium to High

Total water use (potable and non-potable combined)::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water use 79,804,812 Gallons 51,289,592 Gallons

Potable water use::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use 79,804,812 Gallons 51,289,592 Gallons

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users"::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 2,315.16 787.50
Number of residential employees 0 0
Number of in-patient hospital beds 0 0
Full-time equivalent enrollment 6,431 1,954
Full-time equivalent of employees 1,252.60 631
Full-time equivalent of distance education students 0 0

Gross floor area of building space::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area 1,680,659 Square feet 847,008 Square feet

Area of vegetated grounds::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds 136 Acres 136 Acres

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year Jan. 1, 2014 Dec. 31, 2014
Baseline Year Jan. 1, 2007 Dec. 31, 2007

A brief description of when and why the water use baseline was adopted:
Baselines figures are from 2007 which most accurately reflects the figures used to reduce our usages in accordance with the Governor’s mandate to significantly reduce water usage in light of the drought.

Water recycled/reused on campus, performance year:
---

Recycled/reused water withdrawn from off-campus sources, performance year: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

A brief description of any water recovery and reuse systems employed by the institution:
The campus does not use non-potable water.

A brief description of any water metering and management systems employed by the institution:
All campus buildings have potable water metering data. These data are presented to Facilities Management staff through a third-party system called Aquacue.

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

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

A brief description of any water-efficient landscape design practices employed by the institution (e.g. xeriscaping):
Yes, limited water consumption is a factor in landscape selection. The campus has established water efficient landscaping, reduce by 50% as a campus wide LEED credit.

A brief description of any weather-informed irrigation technologies employed by the institution:
Our irrigation system uses weather informed ET-based technology to dictate water times.

A brief description of other water conservation and efficiency strategies employed by the institution:
Irrigation has significantly reduced water usage in recent years in response to drought. More efficient sprinkler heads have been installed to reduce water usage as well.

The website URL where information about the institution’s water conservation and efficiency initiatives is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Baseline data is provided for FY2006-2007 since the campus did not open until fall 2005. The performance year is FY2010-2011.

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.