| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 67.68 |
| Liaison | Nina Hartwig |
| Submission Date | May 31, 2016 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
OP-26: Water Use
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.19 / 5.00 |
John
Gardner Sustainability Planning & Policy Analyst Office of Sustainability |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
None
Level of water risk for the institution’s main campus:
High
Total water use (potable and non-potable combined)::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total water use | 2,112,431,551 Gallons | 2,654,203,372 Gallons |
None
Potable water use::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Potable water use | 369,021,551 Gallons | 322,789,972 Gallons |
None
Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users"::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of residential students | 4,190 | 3,622 |
| Number of residential employees | 0 | 0 |
| Number of in-patient hospital beds | 0 | 0 |
| Full-time equivalent enrollment | 22,723.60 | 23,402.60 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 3,462.70 | 3,172.90 |
| Full-time equivalent of distance education students | 0 | 0 |
None
Gross floor area of building space::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Gross floor area | 7,770,174 Square feet | 6,159,081 Square feet |
None
Area of vegetated grounds::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Vegetated grounds | 76.20 Acres | 57.20 Acres |
None
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 |
None
A brief description of when and why the water use baseline was adopted:
The water baseline was set at FY2008 to be consistent with our Energy baseline.
None
Water recycled/reused on campus, performance year:
559,017
Gallons
None
Recycled/reused water withdrawn from off-campus sources, performance year:
0
Gallons
None
A brief description of any water recovery and reuse systems employed by the institution:
The Cambridge Commons residence hall features a graywater cistern used to water landscape as well as the green roofs.
None
A brief description of any water metering and management systems employed by the institution:
All buildings are metered separately; although for billing purposes, the main Kenwood campus pulls them together by sections to bill for several main meters. Residence halls also have water utility data going right to the Lucid dashboard per building.
None
A brief description of any building retrofit practices employed by the institution, e.g. to install high efficiency plumbing fixtures and fittings:
From 2009 to 2016, over 3 million sf of campus has been upgraded and retrofit for high efficiency urinals, toilets, and sinks.
None
A brief description of any policies or programs employed by the institution to replace appliances, equipment and systems with water-efficient alternatives:
---
None
A brief description of any water-efficient landscape design practices employed by the institution (e.g. xeriscaping):
UW-Milwaukee employs native and prairie plant species adapted to our climate zone throughout campus. The main Kenwood campus does not have an irrigation system and is watered on an as-needed basis, thereby heightening the need for drought-resistant plants. In addition, the Spiral Garden adjacent to the Heat Plant employs native plantings within bioswales to reduce stormwater runoff from impervious areas.
None
A brief description of any weather-informed irrigation technologies employed by the institution:
Irrigation is next to nothing on the UW-Milwaukee campus. There is no permanent built in irritgation system. Only flower pots and distinct beds are watered. The Grounds crew uses daily online weather data and our own weather system to make determinations daily on water practices. Extreme droughts, such as the summer of 2012, did inform some extra tree watering.
None
A brief description of other water conservation and efficiency strategies employed by the institution:
---
None
The website URL where information about the institution’s water conservation and efficiency initiatives is available:
---
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
UWM's Lake Front Pumping Station provides water to the Central Heating and Chilling Plant where it is used for condensing of refrigerant in chillers that provides cooling to campus buildings. The use of cool lake water (50-70 deg. F.) dramatically improves the energy efficiency of the chilling system, which provides UWM chillers with a much lower cost per ton of cooling versus chillers operated with cooling towers. Up to 23 million gallons per day of Lake Michigan water can be pumped to the Central Plant for this purpose (1.74 billion gallons in FY15). The pumping station is located at the bottom of the bluff behind the Alumni Center and has been in operation since 1969. These seasonally affected water draws are included in Baseline (FY08) and Performance Year (2015) total water use, according to the definition provided.
For the discrepancies between IC-3 and OP-26 (for number of residential students, full-time equivalent enrollment, and full-time equivalent of employees), the difference is that IC-3 is updated with FY2016 numbers and OP-26 includes FY2015 numbers. IC-3 includes FY16 numbers for several reasons: it is the most up-to-date information we have, our Research and Curriculum assessments were for FY16, and a number of additional credits included FY16 details to be as up-to-date as possible (submittal every 3 years). The most up-to-date information we have regarding resource consumption (waste, water, GHG, building energy consumption) is FY15.
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.