Overall Rating	Gold
Overall Score	73.17
Liaison	Emily Vollmer
Submission Date	May 16, 2024

STARS v2.2

Virginia Tech
OP-21: Water Use

Status

Score

Responsible Party

1.09 / 4.00

Emily Vollmer
Sustainability Coordinator
Office of 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	590,171,651 Gallons	469,013,020 Gallons

Potable water use:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use	448,739,484 Gallons	467,801,000 Gallons

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

	Start Date	End Date
Performance Period	Jan. 1, 2022	Dec. 31, 2022
Baseline Period	Jan. 1, 2016	Dec. 31, 2016

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:

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Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users":

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site	9,775	9,433
Number of employees resident on-site	2	2
Number of other individuals resident on-site	0	0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment	36,207.40	33,223
Full-time equivalent of employees	8,270.36	7,678
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education	747.82	1,010
Weighted campus users	35,241.71	32,277

Potable water use per weighted campus user:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use per weighted campus user	12,733.19 Gallons	14,493.32 Gallons

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

12.14

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	11,014,986 Gross square feet	10,048,489 Gross square feet

Potable water use per unit of floor area:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use per unit of floor area	40.74 Gallons per square foot	46.55 Gallons per square foot

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

12.49

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

Area of vegetated grounds:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds	300 Acres	300 Acres

Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds	1,967,238.84 Gallons per acre	1,563,376.73 Gallons per acre

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

-25.83

Optional Fields

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

The Virginia Tech Office of Sustainability has four student intern teams which all work to promote sustainable behavior changes in different topical areas: energy, water, waste, and food. The water team specifically focuses on water-related behavior change through educational tabling, events, and partnerships with members of the university and the Towns of Blacksburg and Christiansburg.

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

Non-potable water from the Duck Pond is used to irrigate the Virginia Tech Golf Course, but is not measured. In addition, there is greywater used in a flush system to wash down the Milking Barn at the Virginia Tech Dairy Center.

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

All new buildings and capital renovations try to follow LEED guidelines for water efficiency where feasible, including installing low-flow fixtures and other water-efficient appliances. Also, there is an increased use of instantaneous water heaters to reduce water consumption from users waiting for water to warm up.

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:

Data comes from the Virginia Tech Office of Energy Management and the Office of Sustainability. Virginia Tech has observed relatively constant water usage while observing an increase in population between the baseline and performance years.