| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 66.44 |
| Liaison | Mike Wilson |
| Submission Date | Jan. 29, 2014 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Victoria
OP-26: Water Use
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.24 / 3.00 |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Level of water risk for the institution’s main campus:
Low to Medium
Total water use (potable and non-potable combined)::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total water use | 160,911,158 Gallons | 182,065,263 Gallons |
Potable water use::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Potable water use | 142,271,178 Gallons | 163,425,283 Gallons |
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users"::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of residential students | 2,472 | 2,240 |
| Number of residential employees | 0 | 0 |
| Number of in-patient hospital beds | 0 | 0 |
| Full-time equivalent enrollment | 17,669 | 16,975 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 4,705 | 4,982 |
| Full-time equivalent of distance education students | 2,233 | 1,800 |
Gross floor area of building space::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Gross floor area | 3,892,667 Square feet | 3,854,939 Square feet |
Area of vegetated grounds::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Vegetated grounds | 124.50 Acres | 124.50 Acres |
Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
| Start Date | End Date | |
| Performance Year | April 1, 2012 | March 31, 2013 |
| Baseline Year | April 1, 2009 | March 31, 2010 |
A brief description of when and why the water use baseline was adopted:
---
Water recycled/reused on campus, performance year:
18,639,979
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Recycled/reused water withdrawn from off-campus sources, performance year: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:
UVic has a grey water system in place that treats water from the Outdoor Aquatics Research Facility with ozone and chlorine that serves the heat pump condenser in one building (ECS), and also serves the toilet and urinal flushing in six other campus buildings through a seperate plumbing system. The grey water fills a tank that is pressurized and supplies the fixtures. If the grey water is not keeping up with demand, the tank is filled with city water to make up the difference.
A brief description of any water metering and management systems employed by the institution:
UVic is a diverse campus that strattles two different municipalities - we have 20 different water meter accounts with one (Saanich), and 5 with the other (Oak Bay). Invoices are paid based on usage recorded by each meter. Special meters are set up at the Outdoor Aquatics Research Facility where there are weather anticipating/correcting controls and time clock programmers for irrigation systems. The outdoor irrigation systems have computer controlled timers.
A brief description of any building retrofit practices employed by the institution, e.g. to install high efficiency plumbing fixtures and fittings:
In 2011 UVic was subject to a comprehensive water audit by the regional district and has been implementing the report's recommendations ever since. These include retrofittiing plumbing fixtures in two large buildings, in addition to the water sensing taps and low flow toilets in all of our buildings built since 2007. More plumbing retrofits are planned in the coming years. Grey water from the Outdoor Aquatics Research Facility is recycled into the toilets in six buildings, with plans to connect it to more buildings in the future.
A brief description of any policies or programs employed by the institution to replace appliances, equipment and systems with water-efficient alternatives:
UVic has replaced outdated water-cooling condensing units for walk-in freezers and coolers in the Student Union Building, saving approximately 20,000 m3 of water each year (equivalent to 9 Olympic swimming pools!), and replaced old aspirators in the Department of Chemistry labs with portable electric vacuum pumps, saving an estimated $5,000 annually in water costs. All appliances are placed with the highest water and energy efficiency models.
A brief description of any water-efficient landscape design practices employed by the institution (e.g. xeriscaping):
UVic is integrating "naturalized areas" on campus where the grounds are not watered or otherwise maintained during the summer growning months. The reduction in irrigation in these areas results in savings of more than 8,500 cubic metres of water and $17,000 per year. Low maintenance and native species that require less watering are being incorporated around buildings and on grounds throughout the campus.
A brief description of any weather-informed irrigation technologies employed by the institution:
UVic's water irrigation systems are state-of-the-art computer controlled systems for maximum efficiency. Watering is only done in landscaped formal lawn areas where required, mostly for asthetic purposes.
A brief description of other water conservation and efficiency strategies employed by the institution:
Many other initiatives are planned for the future as per the recommendations in the CRD Water Audit conducted in 2011/12, see: https://www.uvic.ca/sustainability/assets/docs/crdwateraudit.pdf.
The website URL where information about the institution’s water conservation and efficiency initiatives is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
UVic has been very successful in reducing overall water use on campus over the past few years even though the campus population as continued to grow. Between 2009/10 and 2012/13, water usage fell by 80,000 m3 or 11.6%, while the campus population grew by about 1,000 students and employees. These savings were the result of implementing many significant water savings initiatives including reducing irrigation of campus grounds in the summer, running the irrigation system with state-of-the-art computer controlled systems, replacing replaced outdated water-cooling condensing units for walk-in freezers and coolers in the Student Union Building (saving the equivalent to 9 Olympic swimming pools!), and replacing old aspirators in the Department of Chemistry labs with portable electric vacuum pumps. The university also replaced outdated, inefficient toilets and urinals in two large campus buidlings, and recycles grey water from the Outdoor Aquatics Research Facility into toilets and urinals in 6 buildings. More information on water conservation initiatives can be found here: https://www.uvic.ca/sustainability/operations/water/index.php#section0-0.
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.