Overall Rating	Gold
Overall Score	65.54
Liaison	C Jane Hagen
Submission Date	Sept. 3, 2024

STARS v2.2

Virginia Commonwealth University
OP-21: Water Use

Status

Score

Responsible Party

4.00 / 4.00

C Jane Hagen
Sustainability Data Analyst
Sustainability

"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Level of ”Physical Risk Quantity” for the institution’s main campus as indicated by the World Resources Institute Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas:

Low to Medium

Part 1. Reduction in potable water use per person

Total water withdrawal (potable and non-potable combined):

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal	211,580,400 Gallons	320,726,000 Gallons

Potable water use:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use	211,580,400 Gallons	310,816,150 Gallons

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):

	Start Date	End Date
Performance Period	June 30, 2022	July 1, 2023
Baseline Period	June 30, 2007	July 1, 2008

If end date of the baseline year/period is 2004 or earlier, provide:

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

The water use baseline was adopted in 2008 to coincide with the 2008 emissions baseline.

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users":

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site	5,520	4,706
Number of employees resident on-site	10	0
Number of other individuals resident on-site	0	0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment	26,345	23,884
Full-time equivalent of employees	6,766	5,210
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education	2,546	0
Weighted campus users	24,306.25	22,997

Potable water use per weighted campus user:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use per weighted campus user	8,704.77 Gallons	13,515.51 Gallons

Percentage reduction in potable water use per weighted campus user from baseline:

35.59

Part 2. Reduction in potable water use per unit of floor area

Gross floor area of building space:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Gross floor area	8,424,086.88 Gross square feet	6,703,532 Gross square feet

Potable water use per unit of floor area:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use per unit of floor area	25.12 Gallons per square foot	46.37 Gallons per square foot

Percentage reduction in potable water use per unit of floor area from baseline:

45.83

Part 3. Reduction in total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds

Area of vegetated grounds:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds	339 Acres	224 Acres

Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds	624,130.97 Gallons per acre	1,431,812.50 Gallons per acre

Percentage reduction in total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds from baseline:

56.41

Optional Fields

A brief description of the institution's water-related behavior change initiatives:

VCU introduced a rainwater garden as well as a new bayscaping initiative. The Grace E. Harris Hall Rain Garden is the first of it's kind at VCU. Promoted by the student organization, Green Unity for VCU, the planting of the garden was an opportunity for students to come together and help to “green” the VCU campus. The rain garden is planted in flowering species native to Virginia and is a small oasis of natural beauty in the middle of campus for students to gather and enjoy. The purpose of the rain garden is to reduce the pollution flowing into the James River by reducing stormwater runoff. As rainwater flows across roads, lawns and other impervious surfaces, the runoff collects chemicals, fertilizers and other pollutants. The rain garden captures the runoff from impervious or paved surfaces that would normally drain into the James River and Chesapeake Bay. The plants absorb the runoff, where toxins and sediments are filtered and retained in the soil, therefore reducing the amount of runoff making its way downstream. Rain gardens help to manage the amount and more importantly, the quality of stormwater runoff.The Bayscape Landscaping (bayscaping) at the Trani Center for Life Sciences is conservation landscaping that benefits wildlife, the James River and, ultimately, the Chesapeake Bay. This type of landscaping uses native plants to reduce the quantity of stormwater runoff, filter pollutants and reduce landscape maintenance costs at VCU. Bayscaping reduces the amount of time needed to care for a landscape since all of the plants are locally adapted. It also reduces the amount of water used for irrigation and the use of chemical fertilizers. By installing bayscapes in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, we are helping to improve the water quality of local streams, the James River, the Chesapeake Bay and the habitat that the area provides for its wildlife.

A brief description of the institution's water recovery and reuse initiatives:

Rainwater is collected and stored in a 12,000 gallon cistern and is used for landscape irrigation at the Cary Street Gym on the Monroe Park Campus. Rainwater is also captured for irrigation at the VCU Rice Center.

Cooling-coil condensate is recovered for use in cooling towers in several VCU buildings

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to replace plumbing fixtures, fittings, appliances, equipment, and systems with water-efficient alternatives:

VCU replaces plumbing fixtures and fittings on an ongoing basis and always replaces outdated equipment with the most efficient option possible.

Website URL where information about the institution’s water conservation and efficiency efforts is available:

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Additional documentation to support the submission:

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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Vegetated Grounds Acres includes Monroe Park Campus and Rice Rivers Center for Performance Year. Rice Center was not included for the Baseline year.

The area of vegetated grounds includes 25 acres of improved lawn/turf area and 14 acres of ornamental landscape beds spread across the Monroe Park and MCV Campuses and 350 acres of vegetated ground present at the Rice Rivers Center.