Overall Rating	Gold - expired
Overall Score	66.29
Liaison	Kevin Kirsche
Submission Date	Dec. 22, 2017
Executive Letter	Download

STARS v2.1

University of Georgia
OP-22: Water Use

Status

Score

Responsible Party

2.21 / 5.00

Kevin Kirsche
Director of Sustainability
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’s Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas:

Medium to High

Part 1

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

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Total water use	---	567,654,441 Gallons

Potable water use:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use	520,861,126 Gallons	567,654,441 Gallons

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):

	Start Date	End Date
Performance Year	July 1, 2016	June 30, 2017
Baseline Year	July 1, 2006	June 30, 2007

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 FY2007 baseline year corresponds with Georgia's Governor's energy/water challenge.

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users":

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site	9,678	8,863
Number of employees resident on-site	14	0
Number of other individuals resident on-site and/or staffed hospital beds	329	0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment	35,165	33,831
Full-time equivalent of employees (staff + faculty)	10,384	8,848
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education	362	340
Weighted campus users	36,642.25	33,970

Potable water use per weighted campus user:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use per weighted campus user	14,214.77 Gallons	16,710.46 Gallons

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

14.93

Part 2

Gross floor area of building space:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Gross floor area	17,288,180 Gross square feet	14,157,640 Gross square feet

Potable water use per unit of floor area:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use per unit of floor area	30.13 Gallons per square foot	40.10 Gallons per square foot

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

24.86

Part 3

Does the institution wish to pursue Part 3 of this credit? (reductions in total water use per acre/hectare of vegetated grounds):

Area of vegetated grounds:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds	---	---

Total water use (potable + non-potable) per unit of vegetated grounds:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Total water use per unit of vegetated grounds	---	---

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

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Optional Fields

A brief description of the institution's water-related behavior change initiatives, e.g. initiatives to shift individual attitudes and practices such as signage and competitions:

In the severe drought of 2007-8, UGA aggressively decreased water usage through operational and behavior change initiatives. The campus adopted the mantra "Every Drop Counts" and placed stickers and signs in restrooms and in campus transit buses. The Green Cup Challenge residence hall competition measures water use per student and rewards the halls which conserve the most.

A brief description of the institution's water recovery and reuse initiatives:

Fifteen cisterns on campus collect and store over 530,000 gallons of rain and condensate for reuse in campus bulidings and landscapes, including a gray water reuse system installed in the new LEED-certified residence hall Building 1516. Over fifty rain gardens have been installed to improve storm water and watershed health at UGA. Overall, UGA has 15 cisterns installed or under construction, totaling over 530,000 gallons storage capacity for continuous reuse of harvested rain and condensate water. Recent projects include: New ECV Residence Hall, Building 1516 (2010): two separate underground cisterns totaling 00,000 gallons of harvested water storage for reuse. Gray water from showers and laundry inside the building, as well as rain and condensate water are collected in separate storage tanks and treated for reuse in toilet flushing, mechanical system make-up water, and landscape irrigation. •Georgia Museum of Art Addition (2011): 30,000 gallon underground cistern collecting rain and condensate water to irrigate new sculpture garden and surrounding landscapes. •Special Collections Library (2011): 40,000 gallon cistern underground cistern collecting rain, condensate and ground water for reuse as irrigation of newly created green space and make up water for cooling buildings as part of the northwest precinct central chilled water infrastructure. •Double Bridges Farm (2011): two separate above-ground cisterns totaling 54,000 gallons are being installed to harvest rain and condensate water for reuse in toilet flushing and animal waste management. •State Botanical Gardens Maintenance Facility (2011): 10,000 gallon underground cistern collecting rain and condensate water for reuse in indoor (greenhouse) and outdoor irrigation and other site watering. •Butts-Mehre Building Addition (2011): The UGA Athletic Association recently installed a 200,000 gallon cistern to collect rain and condensate water for reuse to irrigate the Woodruff Football practice Fields. Other water harvesting projects installed on campus: • Lamar Dodd School of Art (2009): 35,000 gallon below ground cistern collecting rain and condensate water for reuse in new green space / landscape irrigation. •College of Pharmacy (2009): 15,000 gallon underground cistern collecting rain and condensate water for reuse in new green space / landscape irrigation. •Tate Student Center (2008): 75,000 gallon underground cistern collecting rain and condensate water from Tate Expansion and Miller Learning Center for reuse in toilet flushing in Tate Expansion and irrigation of the newly created Georgia Quad green space. •Grounds Department Maintenance Shops (2008): 10,000 gallon above-ground cistern collecting rain water for reuse in campus tree irrigation and fountain re-fill water. •UGA Founders Garden (2007): 600 gallon above-ground cistern collecting rain water for reuse as irrigation in the historic gardens. •Coverdell Center for Biomedical Research (2006): 40,000 gallon underground cistern collecting rain and condensate water for reuse in toilet flushing and building cooling system make-up water. •UGA Memorial Garden (2005): 5,100 gallon underground cistern collecting rain water from the Military Science Building for reuse as irrigation in the UGA Memorial Garden.

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to replace plumbing fixtures, fittings, appliances, equipment, and systems with water-efficient alternatives (e.g. building retrofits):

UGA Facilities Management Division and UGA Housing replaced most toilets and urinals on campus with ultra- or low-flow fixtures. Aerators were installed in sink faucets. All once-through cooled laboratory and mechanical equipment were replaced with recirculating units. Condensate recovery in the Central Steam system and at individual buildings conserves millions of gallons of water. Building-specific chillers and cooling towers are being replaced with more efficient centralized district energy plants. UGA is currently studying on-site waste water treatment and reuse to offset cooling tower water use.

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:

https://sustainability.uga.edu/operations/water-conservation/

Additional documentation to support the submission:

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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

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