Overall Rating	Gold - expired
Overall Score	72.46
Liaison	Paul Mathisen
Submission Date	May 22, 2020
Executive Letter	Download

STARS v2.1

Worcester Polytechnic Institute
OP-22: Water Use

Status

Score

Responsible Party

2.57 / 4.00

Paul Mathisen
Dir. of Sustainability & Assoc. Prof
Civil & Environmental Engineering

"---" 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’s Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas:

Low to Medium

Part 1

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

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Total water use	42,136,089 Gallons	34,968,252 Gallons

Potable water use:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use	42,136,089 Gallons	34,968,252 Gallons

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

	Start Date	End Date
Performance Year	July 1, 2018	June 30, 2019
Baseline Year	July 1, 2013	June 30, 2014

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:

FY 2014 was adopted as the baseline for our Sustainability plan.

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users":

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site	2,230	1,860
Number of employees resident on-site	67	4
Number of other individuals resident on-site and/or staffed hospital beds	112	0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment	5,872	4,125
Full-time equivalent of employees (staff + faculty)	1,251	916
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education	306	134
Weighted campus users	5,799	4,146.25

Potable water use per weighted campus user:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use per weighted campus user	7,266.10 Gallons	8,433.71 Gallons

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

13.84

Part 2

Gross floor area of building space:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Gross floor area	2,728,861 Gross square feet	1,946,938 Gross square feet

Potable water use per unit of floor area:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use per unit of floor area	15.44 Gallons per square foot	17.96 Gallons per square foot

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

14.03

Part 3

Does the institution wish to pursue Part 3 of this credit? (reductions in total water use per acre/hectare of vegetated grounds):

Yes

Area of vegetated grounds:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds	97 Acres	35 Acres

Total water use (potable + non-potable) per unit of vegetated grounds:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Total water use per unit of vegetated grounds	434,392.67 Gallons per acre	999,092.91 Gallons per acre

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

56.52

Optional Fields

A brief description of the institution's water-related behavior change initiatives, e.g. initiatives to shift individual attitudes and practices such as signage and competitions:

After having experience water shortages in the city, WPI is conservative toward water consumption. In new construction and renovated buildings, water conserving appliances - low flow toilets, showers, and faucets - have been installed. Sustainability Ambassadors have water conservation prioritized in their behavior change efforts with students, and they work diligently to raise awareness about the need to conserve water. Shorter showers and shutting off the faucets during brushing teeth are emphasized. Student and staff Sustainability Ambassadors posted signage in kitchens, restrooms, and locker rooms for consumers to be thoughtful about water usage. On WPI grounds, water is also conserved. Operationally, the Grounds Department has modified its grass cutting process so that it cut grass less frequently and to a longer length. It also puts up signage for the community to avoid walking on the grass. Any necessary watering of plants was done manually through the use of collected rainwater. A 2018 student project addressed stormwater runoff and developed proposals for best management practices, while a 2020 student project addressed water use and best approaches for reducing it (through leak detection, efficiency improvement, and behavioral change.)

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

WPI has a water drainage system at the Sports and Recreation Center that is designed to collect drainage water from the rooftop and perimeter of the building, channel it to two 25,000 gallon cisterns buried beneath the Quadrangle, where it is collected and stored for later use by groundskeepers who pump water from the cisterns into water trucks to use to irrigate grass and plantings around campus.

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to replace plumbing fixtures, fittings, appliances, equipment, and systems with water-efficient alternatives (e.g. building retrofits):

WPI replaces all fixtures and appliances when renovations are undertaken. To date, in all major campus renovations and all new construction, water conserving faucets, showerheads, and toilet flushometers are installed. Flow rates meet or surpass the requirements. Faucets have motion sensors and provide water only as needed.

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:

https://www.usgbc.org/projects/wpi-foisie-innovation-studio

Additional documentation to support the submission:

WPI_TT_2019_SustainabilitySelfGuidedTour.pdf

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

https://www.usgbc.org/projects/wpi-recreation-center?view=overview