Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 50.92
Liaison Gretchen Vanicor
Submission Date June 22, 2021

STARS v2.2

University of Louisiana at Lafayette
OP-21: Water Use

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.27 / 4.00 Joe Nelson
Grad Assistant
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

Total water withdrawal (potable and non-potable combined):
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal 131,175,450 Gallons 129,765,700 Gallons

Potable water use:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use 131,175,450 Gallons 129,765,700 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 Jan. 1, 2012 Dec. 31, 2012

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

2012 is chosen as the baseline year as this was the first year after a major renovation and addition of new campus housing.


Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users":
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 3,300 2,514
Number of employees resident on-site 106 5
Number of other individuals resident on-site 2 5
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 14,040 13,420
Full-time equivalent of employees 2,029 1,881
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 2,285 33
Weighted campus users 11,191.50 12,085.75

Potable water use per weighted campus user:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use per weighted campus user 11,720.99 Gallons 10,737.08 Gallons

Percentage reduction in potable water use per weighted campus user from baseline:
0

Gross floor area of building space:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area 5,744,672 Gross square feet 4,064,387 Gross square feet

Potable water use per unit of floor area:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use per unit of floor area 22.83 Gallons per square foot 31.93 Gallons per square foot

Percentage reduction in potable water use per unit of floor area from baseline:
28.48

Area of vegetated grounds:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds 545.10 Acres 545.10 Acres

Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds 240,644.74 Gallons per acre 238,058.52 Gallons per acre

Percentage reduction in total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds from baseline:
-1.09

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

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

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

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

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

We identified a meter error in March of 2019 that was fixed in June of 2019. Unfortunately, some meters on campus had been measuring erroneously high water usage numbers for the previous three years. Therefore our water usage numbers reflected on water bills for 2016-19 are inflated and not 100% accurate. Analyzing historical spend, we computed a need to deduct 11,363,350 gallons from total water use these years and have done so in the above total.

Total building square footage is adjusted from the total campus building square footage to remove the building space at Cade Farm and the Ecology Center because these two agricultural locations are on well water and we do not have water use data.

Vegetated grounds acreage is so much less than total campus acreage because it does not include the acreage at Cade Farm and the Ecology Center (650.9 acres). These locations are on well water and therefore are not incorporated in the water use numbers.


We identified a meter error in March of 2019 that was fixed in June of 2019. Unfortunately, some meters on campus had been measuring erroneously high water usage numbers for the previous three years. Therefore our water usage numbers reflected on water bills for 2016-19 are inflated and not 100% accurate. Analyzing historical spend, we computed a need to deduct 11,363,350 gallons from total water use these years and have done so in the above total.

Total building square footage is adjusted from the total campus building square footage to remove the building space at Cade Farm and the Ecology Center because these two agricultural locations are on well water and we do not have water use data.

Vegetated grounds acreage is so much less than total campus acreage because it does not include the acreage at Cade Farm and the Ecology Center (650.9 acres). These locations are on well water and therefore are not incorporated in the water use numbers.

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.