Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 56.88
Liaison Dedee DeLongpre Johnston
Submission Date June 3, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Wake Forest University
OP-26: Water Use

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.80 / 3.00 Mike Draughn
Director, Maintenance and Utilities Services
Facilities & Campus Services
"---" 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 134,654,866 Gallons 176,235,418 Gallons

Potable water use::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Potable water use 134,654,866 Gallons 176,235,418 Gallons

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users"::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 3,438 3,009
Number of residential employees 9 9
Number of in-patient hospital beds 0 0
Full-time equivalent enrollment 6,765 6,156
Full-time equivalent of employees 2,287.30 1,731
Full-time equivalent of distance education students 111.50 0

Gross floor area of building space::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross floor area 4,857,790 Square feet 3,854,426 Square feet

Area of vegetated grounds::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds 460.60 Acres 459 Acres

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year July 1, 2013 June 30, 2014
Baseline Year July 1, 2006 June 30, 2007

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

Baseline year of FY 07 was established with the original submission based on availability of historical data.


Water recycled/reused on campus, performance year:
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Recycled/reused water withdrawn from off-campus sources, performance year:
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A brief description of any water recovery and reuse systems employed by the institution:

The university does not currently use any non-potable water for irrigation or other applications.


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

As of the end of FY14, Wake Forest University had sub-meters on 63 buildings. Combined with city meters and our expanded boundaries, we now have building- level meters for about 97% of our space. Additionally, all irrigation and make-up feeds for process water (chiller and steam plants) are metered.


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

Design standards are in place for new and retrofit of facilities. Standard fixtures have been identified to provide: dual flush toilets, 1 pint urinals, .5 gpm faucets, and low flow shower heads


A brief description of any policies or programs employed by the institution to replace appliances, equipment and systems with water-efficient alternatives:
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A brief description of any water-efficient landscape design practices employed by the institution (e.g. xeriscaping):

Native plants are prioritized partly because of their drought resistance within our climate zone. Virtually all trees planted on campus meet Hardiness Zone 7, which is appropriate for the Reynolda Campus. We are very sensitive to putting plants where they are best suited. With much of campus being non-irrigated we're careful to consider micro climates and water needs when choosing plants.


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

New shrub and tree plantings are hand watered from a spigot or a mobile water tank. Although time consuming, hand watering or spot watering is very water wise as only the plants that need water receive water rather that the entire surrounding landscape. Newly planted trees receive one inch supplemental water per week in the absence of one or more inches of rainfall, for the first two years through the automatic sprinkler system or through hand-watering.

The rest of campus irrigation is computer controlled. These new systems are linked to a “weather station” on campus which shuts the system off in the event of a significant rain. There are also flow sensors that monitor and shut off the system should a major leak occur. A notification from the PC informs Landscaping Services that there is a problem with the irrigation system, allowing a repair to occur in a timely manner.


A brief description of other water conservation and efficiency strategies employed by the institution:

The university has migrated away from "once through" applications where city water was being used for cooling and has gone to process coolers or heat exchangers connected to our campus loops.


The website URL where information about the institution’s water conservation and efficiency initiatives is available:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

The baseline year is 2006/07. Calculations above do not take into account visitors, guests, or tenants in per capita consumption figures.


The baseline year is 2006/07. Calculations above do not take into account visitors, guests, or tenants in per capita consumption figures.

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.