Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 66.39
Liaison Shane Stennes
Submission Date Dec. 15, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
OP-26: Water Use

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.00 / 2.00 Cathy Abene
Civil Engineer
Energy Mgmt
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Level of water risk for the institution’s main campus:
Low

Total water use (potable and non-potable combined)::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Total water use 640,160,172 Gallons 496,309,968 Gallons

Potable water use::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use 639,213,872 Gallons 496,309,968 Gallons

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users"::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 6,975 6,577
Number of residential employees 18 18
Number of in-patient hospital beds 1,932 1,932
Full-time equivalent enrollment 45,291.70 44,394.20
Full-time equivalent of employees 18,425 17,053
Full-time equivalent of distance education students 596 88

Gross floor area of building space::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area 23,384,200 Square feet 22,717,135 Square feet

Area of vegetated grounds::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds 749.10 Acres 749.10 Acres

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year July 1, 2014 June 30, 2015
Baseline Year July 1, 2007 June 30, 2008

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

Water recycled/reused on campus, performance year:
946,300 Gallons

Recycled/reused water withdrawn from off-campus sources, performance year:
0 Gallons

A brief description of any water recovery and reuse systems employed by the institution:

We have a storm water catch system on top of 17th ave res hall and on the land care building.


A brief description of any water metering and management systems employed by the institution:

We actively meter potable water consumption. We bill individual Colleges and departments for their water use.


A brief description of any building retrofit practices employed by the institution, e.g. to install high efficiency plumbing fixtures and fittings:

State of Minnesota Sustainable Building Guidelines (http://www.b3mn.org/guidelines/index.html) specify low flow fixtures.


A brief description of any policies or programs employed by the institution to replace appliances, equipment and systems with water-efficient alternatives:

PURPOSE AND SCOPE:
The goal is to encourage and increase purchasing that reflects the University's commitment to sustainability. This will further our efforts to promote environmental factors such as:
Conserving natural resources,
Minimizing environmental impacts such as pollution and use of water and energy,
Eliminating or reducing toxics that create hazards to workers and our community,
Supporting strong recycling markets,
Reducing materials that are land-filled,
Increasing the use and availability of environmentally preferable products that protect the environment,
Identifying environmentally preferable products and distribution systems,
Rewarding manufacturers and vendors that offer environmentally preferable products.


A brief description of any water-efficient landscape design practices employed by the institution (e.g. xeriscaping):

The university uses native plantings wherever possible, and irrigation grading and plant material selections are taken into considerations.


A brief description of any weather-informed irrigation technologies employed by the institution:

The University has two weather stations that feed data to the computerized central controller. The controller runs all of the irrigation systems. The data is used to calculate evapotranspiration (ET) rates, then the controller sets run times based on the previous day's weather conditions. (This is done on 98% of our systems, our goal is 100%).
The stations also have rain sensors that are set to shut down systems (rain delay) after we receive .25" of rain (this happens on 100% of our systems).


A brief description of other water conservation and efficiency strategies employed by the institution:

N/A


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.