| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 65.89 |
| Liaison | Jonathan Rausseo |
| Submission Date | Nov. 25, 2021 |
University of Ottawa
OP-21: Water Use
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Javier
Calle Energy Analyst Facilities |
Level of ”Physical Risk Quantity” for the institution’s main campus as indicated by the World Resources Institute Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas:
Total water withdrawal (potable and non-potable combined):
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total water withdrawal | 486,931 Cubic meters | 700,414 Cubic meters |
Potable water use:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Potable water use | 486,931 Cubic meters | 695,914 Cubic meters |
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. 30, 2019 |
| Baseline Period | May 1, 2005 | April 30, 2006 |
A brief description of when and why the water use baseline was adopted:
The water baseline was chosen to match the energy baseline to simply reporting.
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users":
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 3,664 | 2,885 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 37,360 | 37,345 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 4,609 | 4,627 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 303 | 0 |
| Weighted campus users | 32,165.50 | 32,200.25 |
Potable water use per weighted campus user:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Potable water use per weighted campus user | 486,931 Cubic meters | 695,914 Cubic meters |
Percentage reduction in potable water use per weighted campus user from baseline:
Gross floor area of building space:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Gross floor area | 621,099 Gross square meters | 539,211 Gross square meters |
Potable water use per unit of floor area:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Potable water use per unit of floor area | 0.78 Cubic meters per square meter | 1.29 Cubic meters per square meter |
Percentage reduction in potable water use per unit of floor area from baseline:
Area of vegetated grounds:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Vegetated grounds | 9.30 Hectares | 7.77 Hectares |
Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds | 52,358.17 Cubic meters per hectare | 90,154.97 Cubic meters per hectare |
Percentage reduction in total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds from baseline:
A brief description of the institution's water-related behavior change initiatives:
The bulk of the success in our water reduction has not come from community engagement, rather from improvements to equipment, using new technologies, and empowering Facilities staff to take imitative on projects that reduce consumption. Nevertheless, there is a campaign asking employees to report leaks as soon as they notice them in order to reduce waste.
A brief description of the institution's water recovery and reuse initiatives:
The University of Ottawa employs a black water re-use system to provide feed water to the cooling towers. The black water is sourced from the concentrate of the science precinct water purification plant and the over-flow from the aquatic care fish holding facility.(on main campus) Aquatic care black water diverted to cooling tower make up and enriched reverse osmosis concentrate that used to go to sewer at the power plant.
At our health science campus, we use a reverse osmosis system to purify ‘black water’. Water optimization and black water recycling of Reversed Osmosis concentrate is used as feed water.
Water is also recovered from condensation that accumulates on equipment and is returned to the central plant for reuse.
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to replace plumbing fixtures, fittings, appliances, equipment, and systems with water-efficient alternatives:
Whenever new technologies arrive that are proven to reduce water consumption, the University of Ottawa retrofits its infrastructure to incorporate that technology. This tends to happen typically at the end of life of the equipment (ex. toilets, showers, etc).
If it is observed that water consumption in a building is rising faster than anticipated, investigations are conducted to isolate the issues, and when required, old infrastructure is replaced with new infrastructure.
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:
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.