University of California, Santa Barbara
IN-2: Innovation 2

California’s diminishing supply of potable water and the stress on local water supplies have prompted UCSB to recently hire a Water Efficiency Manager and a Preventative Maintenance Plumber. Both positions are solely designed to help UCSB conserve water and implement/ maintain water conservation and efficiency fixtures. The Water Efficiency Manager works on conservation efforts within the campus-wide water distribution systems, including potable, reclaimed, and storm water. In addition they work with Design and Construction Services (DCS) and Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) on new capital projects and water, as well as with local, regional, and national water agencies. The Preventative Maintenance Plumber is primarily tasked with servicing and maintaining water efficient fixtures. After extensive research, UCSB determined that fixtures designed to be water efficient do no operate to their fullest savings potential if not serviced or maintained regularly, which can result in unnecessary water loss. By having an individual focused on maintenance of these systems, they will help UCSB immensely with increasing the efficiency of existing systems and identifying new areas where conservation and efficiency practices can be introduced. Because of this person’s ability to save water, their salary is to be placed on the purchased utility account at the University because their ability to save water will directly lead a reduction in expenditures on utilities.

The appointment of both positions will lead to direct savings in water consumption. The Water Efficiency Manager has already received over $100k in grant funding and matching funding from Facilities Management at UCSB to put towards water conservation and efficiency efforts, specifically installing flow restrictors on all faucets on-campus, which is estimated to save 2.3M gallons of water annually. In addition, they have also strengthened the partnership with local water agencies by spearheading workshops on-campus, and appearing in local media outlets. They have also scheduled a mini-series on water conservation and efficiency with the local water district that will highlight best management practices from the local community and on-campus. One project on the immediate horizon is leading a feasibility study to determine the use of recycled water in cooling towers and other industrial applications, which would result in a 14% savings in potable water. By making sure fixtures are operating at optimum efficiency, the Preventative Maintenance Plumber will save significant amounts of water and help to inventory all restroom fixtures on-campus. Campus water-related research has shown that in several locations water efficient fixtures are not performing to their established standard. This individual’s ability to identify and service/ replace the fixtures will lead to water savings.