Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 58.75
Liaison Mark Klapatch-Mathias
Submission Date May 1, 2014
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of Wisconsin-River Falls
OP-26: Water Use

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.04 / 2.00 Timothy Thum
Senior Engineer
Facilities 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 37,287,000 Gallons 42,129,500 Gallons

Potable water use::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use 29,856,000 Gallons 38,914,000 Gallons

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users"::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 2,322 2,322
Number of residential employees 4 4
Number of in-patient hospital beds 0 0
Full-time equivalent enrollment 5,503.11 5,568.04
Full-time equivalent of employees 756 756
Full-time equivalent of distance education students 397.18 50.27

Gross floor area of building space::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area 1,994,632 Square feet 1,863,536 Square feet

Area of vegetated grounds::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds 166 Acres 166 Acres

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year Jan. 1, 2013 Dec. 31, 2013
Baseline Year Jan. 1, 2005 Dec. 31, 2005

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

The baseline was established in 2005 as part of State Executive Order 145 for energy reduction goals.


Water recycled/reused on campus, performance year:
270,000 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Recycled/reused water withdrawn from off-campus sources, performance year: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:

The University Center has a 48,000 gallon underground storage tank that harvests rainwater for toilet flush use.


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

Every building on campus has a water consumption meter.

MAMAC Systems provides UWRF student, faculty, and staff with a national pilot demonstration project for energy and water use data in a variety of buildings across campus. The first two such buildings are Grimm and McMillan Residence Halls. The Regional Development Institute building will soon join that group. This real-time availability of data allows the campus community to see the impacts of our conscious decisions on the conservation of these resources and the direct costs to students and taxpayers in the form of utility bills.


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

Plumbing in Johnson Hall was replaced in 2012 with high efficiency fixtures.

The University center has dual-flushlink valves on all toilets as well as the EcoCubeslink used on all urinals reducing to 3 flushes per day.


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

The campus regularly looks at opportunities for renovations or the replacement of more water efficient equipment. Examples run from the installation of front loading washing machines in all campus laundry facilities (res life and athletics) to lab equipment to fixtures in academic or residence hall environments. Extensive efforts have been conducted to regularly inspect/replace flush valves on bathroom toilets/urinals.


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

As irrigation is not used in most of the landscaping areas, UWRF uses native and prairie plants in landscaping that are drought-resistant. These plants include pampas, coneflowers, asters, and other various native and drought-resistant plants.


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

"Smart" irrigation that senses weather/rainfall to adjust irrigation accordingly is used on all of the newer irrigation systems, including the University Center. Additionally, drip irrigation is used on some buildings throughout campus to reduce unnecessary irrigation, overspray, and evaporation.


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:
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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.