| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 68.18 |
| Liaison | Ezra Small |
| Submission Date | Feb. 5, 2015 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Massachusetts Amherst
OP-26: Water Use
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.78 / 3.00 |
Ezra
Small Sustainability Manager Physical Plant |
Level of water risk for the institution’s main campus:
Total water use (potable and non-potable combined)::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total water use | 285,506,738 Gallons | 382,024,168 Gallons |
Potable water use::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Potable water use | 285,506,738 Gallons | 382,024,168 Gallons |
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users"::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of residential students | 13,086 | 11,539 |
| Number of residential employees | 0 | 0 |
| Number of in-patient hospital beds | 0 | 0 |
| Full-time equivalent enrollment | 27,106.90 | 22,957 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 6,271.10 | 5,838 |
| Full-time equivalent of distance education students | 798 | 388 |
Gross floor area of building space::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Gross floor area | 12,239,033 Square feet | 9,989,626 Square feet |
Area of vegetated grounds::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Vegetated grounds | 1,317.50 Acres | 1,350 Acres |
Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
| Start Date | End Date | |
| Performance Year | July 1, 2013 | July 1, 2014 |
| Baseline Year | July 1, 2004 | July 1, 2005 |
A brief description of when and why the water use baseline was adopted:
UMass Amherst has always used 2005 as our baseline for benchmarking water usage in STARS.
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Recycled/reused water withdrawn from off-campus sources, performance year: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 Central Heating Plant (CHP) currently utilizes the effluent from the Amherst Waste Water Treatment Plant (reclaimed water) as boiler make-up water to produce steam for the campus. To increase water conservation, the CHP has received a Class A Reclaimed Water Application to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to use reclaimed water at the CHP cooling towers as well, the first issued in Western Massachusetts.
The Amherst campus currently uses about 330 million gallons of water per year. With the Class A Permit, the CHP would be able to use up to 200,000 gallons per day of reclaimed water, resulting in a potential reduction of potable water consumption of 21%.
History: Approximately ten years ago the Town of Amherst Department of Public Utilities requested that UMass investigate ways to reuse the town’s Waste Water Treatment Plant’s effluent (reclaimed water) on campus. UMass commissioned a study to investigate the feasibility of reusing this effluent and confirmed that the reclaimed water was possible for boiler water make-up at the old power plant. The best path forward on this effort was to use proven technology – multi media filters, reverse osmosis membranes, and chlorination.
With approval from the Town of Amherst and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection the University started utilizing reclaimed water in 2005. The water re-use initiative reduced potable water consumption by about 16%.
A brief description of any water metering and management systems employed by the institution:
All buildings over 20,000 square feet are metered here on campus.
A brief description of any building retrofit practices employed by the institution, e.g. to install high efficiency plumbing fixtures and fittings:
The retrofit of campus toilets, urinals, and faucets targeted both academic buildings and residence halls. Some 3,400 toilets, 771 urinals, and 4,200 faucets have undergone retrofitting. Piping was also modified to comply with standard trade practices.
The flush valves on urinals were replaced with flushometer valves, reducing water consumption from 1.5 to 1.0 gallons of water per flush. Lastly, the faucets include tamper resistant flow restrictors and adapters. The total water savings for all retrofits, including toilets, urinals, showers, faucets, and water heating, will average about 10.5 million cubic feet of water annually, with associated cost savings of about $400,000.
The Orchard Hill Sustainable/Low-Flow Showerhead project is supported by the Sustainability, Innovation & Engagement Fund and was proposed by an Eco-Rep student living in Orchard Hill. The program replaced all 192 showerheads in Orchard Hill bathrooms during the summer of 2014. The project will save an estimated 1 million gallons of water per year.
A brief description of any policies or programs employed by the institution to replace appliances, equipment and systems with water-efficient alternatives:
Water efficiency projects are incorporated into the E+ Program each year. s millions of dollars for energy conservation projects, which upgrade or replace inefficient physical structures or technologies on campus. The program is designed as an eventual payback system, where the annual savings that the project creates actually pays for the initial cost of the project within seven years. After the initial payback period, the projects will continue to reduce utilities costs.
A brief description of any water-efficient landscape design practices employed by the institution (e.g. xeriscaping):
The plants are planted and watered for a year. The plants that are selected grow naturally in the local environment so after the first year plants are not watered and are allowed to survive on their own.
A brief description of any weather-informed irrigation technologies employed by the institution:
A brief description of other water conservation and efficiency strategies employed by the institution:
The website URL where information about the institution’s water conservation and efficiency initiatives is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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.