Overall Rating	Silver
Overall Score	60.54
Liaison	Jane Stewart
Submission Date	March 1, 2024

STARS v2.2

Washington and Lee University
OP-21: Water Use

Status

Score

Responsible Party

2.49 / 5.00

Brendan Perry
University Engineer
University Facilities

"---" 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:

Medium to High

Part 1. Reduction in potable water use per person

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

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal	44,897,008 Gallons	37,054,334 Gallons

Potable water use:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use	36,866,615 Gallons	35,587,180 Gallons

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

	Start Date	End Date
Performance Period	July 1, 2022	June 30, 2023
Baseline Period	July 1, 2010	June 30, 2011

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:

Baseline data is from FY2010/2011 and is being used because it the start of a new sustainability effort on campus.

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users":

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site	1,398	1,086
Number of employees resident on-site	43	31
Number of other individuals resident on-site	3	0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment	2,238	2,172
Full-time equivalent of employees	1,286	761
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education	0	0
Weighted campus users	3,006.25	2,479

Potable water use per weighted campus user:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use per weighted campus user	12,263.32 Gallons	14,355.46 Gallons

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

14.57

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	2,394,874 Gross square feet	2,306,175 Gross square feet

Potable water use per unit of floor area:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use per unit of floor area	15.39 Gallons per square foot	15.43 Gallons per square foot

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

0.24

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

Area of vegetated grounds:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds	118 Acres	40 Acres

Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds	380,483.12 Gallons per acre	926,358.35 Gallons per acre

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

58.93

Optional Fields

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

The Office of Sustainability works with Residential Advisors to share water waste reduction information with all students living on campus. This includes tips on shower times as well as information on the most efficient settings for washing machines and dishwashers. A short video produced specifically for W&L students includes quick "how-to" style information about conserving energy and water in campus housing.
University Facilities also carefully manages watering practices for landscaping.

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

University Facilities is in the study phase of a project to treat and reuse condenser water blowdown at the Central Cooling Plant, which is expected to reduce annual water consumption by approximately 1 million gallons. Sustainable Design guidelines set a goal to reduce water use by 40% compared to a baseline building using standard fixtures.

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

The University has adopted low-flow plumbing fixtures as standard.

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

https://my.wlu.edu/sustainability/sustainable-design-guidelines

Additional documentation to support the submission:

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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Water data provided bu University Engineer. Text related to behavior-change initiatives provided by Jane Stewart.