Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 68.39
Liaison Marianne Martin
Submission Date Sept. 22, 2021

STARS v2.2

University of Colorado Boulder
OP-21: Water Use

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.33 / 5.00 Jonathan Akins
Campus Civil Engineer
Facilities Management
"---" 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:
Medium to High

Total water withdrawal (potable and non-potable combined):
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal 391,743,000 Gallons 413,695,000 Gallons

Potable water use:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use 260,750,000 Gallons 313,695,000 Gallons

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Period Jan. 1, 2019 Dec. 31, 2019
Baseline Period July 1, 2007 June 30, 2008

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

In 2001-2002, CU used approximately 400 Mgal per year of water. Since then, CU has reduced water consumption because of the drought conditions we are experiencing, and because water has a large carbon footprint.


Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users":
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 9,390 6,653
Number of employees resident on-site 26 23
Number of other individuals resident on-site 500 500
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 33,608 25,978
Full-time equivalent of employees 9,961 5,534
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 1,774 5,503
Weighted campus users 34,200.25 21,675.75

Potable water use per weighted campus user:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use per weighted campus user 7,624.21 Gallons 14,472.16 Gallons

Percentage reduction in potable water use per weighted campus user from baseline:
47.32

Gross floor area of building space:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area 12,960,842 Gross square feet 9,685,160 Gross square feet

Potable water use per unit of floor area:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use per unit of floor area 20.12 Gallons per square foot 32.39 Gallons per square foot

Percentage reduction in potable water use per unit of floor area from baseline:
37.89

Area of vegetated grounds:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds 171 Acres 260 Acres

Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds 2,290,894.74 Gallons per acre 1,591,134.62 Gallons per acre

Percentage reduction in total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds from baseline:
-43.98

A brief description of the institution's water-related behavior change initiatives:
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A brief description of the institution's water recovery and reuse initiatives:
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A brief description of the institution's initiatives to replace plumbing fixtures, fittings, appliances, equipment, and systems with water-efficient alternatives:
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Website URL where information about the institution’s water conservation and efficiency efforts is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

The performance year data reported was provided from calendar year 2019. The institutional data provided in PRE4 is up to date (Spring 2021)
PRE 5 used data collected for fiscal year 2020 which runs July 2019 to June 2020. However this credit used data from calendar year 2019. This was selected to avoid COVID 19 impacts to data.


The performance year data reported was provided from calendar year 2019. The institutional data provided in PRE4 is up to date (Spring 2021)
PRE 5 used data collected for fiscal year 2020 which runs July 2019 to June 2020. However this credit used data from calendar year 2019. This was selected to avoid COVID 19 impacts to data.

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.