| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 52.28 |
| Liaison | Stephen Ellis |
| Submission Date | Nov. 25, 2014 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Boston University
OP-26: Water Use
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.86 / 5.00 |
Dennis
Carlberg Associate Vice President for Sustainability BU Sustainability |
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indicates that no data was submitted for this field
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Level of water risk for the institution’s main campus:
High
Total water use (potable and non-potable combined)::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Total water use | 379,008,376 Gallons | 434,925,867 Gallons |
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Potable water use::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Potable water use | 379,008,376 Gallons | 434,925,867 Gallons |
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Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users"::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of residential students | 11,347 | 11,185 |
| Number of residential employees | 184 | 181 |
| Number of in-patient hospital beds | 0 | 0 |
| Full-time equivalent enrollment | 25,599 | 24,623 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 9,854 | 8,439 |
| Full-time equivalent of distance education students | 2,596 | 1,605 |
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Gross floor area of building space::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Gross floor area | 14,327,826 Square feet | 13,426,870 Square feet |
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Area of vegetated grounds::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Vegetated grounds | 0.02 Acres | 0.02 Acres |
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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, 2005 | July 30, 2006 |
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A brief description of when and why the water use baseline was adopted:
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Water recycled/reused on campus, performance year:
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None
Recycled/reused water withdrawn from off-campus sources, performance year: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:
Completed in June of 2012, the Medical Student Residence at 815 Albany Street uses landscape features that are designed to require as little water as possible and the residence uses 100% rainwater harvesting for irrigation, resulting in an 11% reduction in water use for irrigation.
The New Balance Field uses a rainwater storage tank; in addition to rainwater, the tank captures and reuses the water that is released onto the field by the six water cannons used to wet the playing surface before and during field hockey games.
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A brief description of any water metering and management systems employed by the institution:
Percent of building space with water metering: 100%.
Boston University has building-level metering across campus, including sewer abatement meters on cooling towers and irrigation.
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A brief description of any building retrofit practices employed by the institution, e.g. to install high efficiency plumbing fixtures and fittings:
The Medical Student Residence has reduced water use in the building by 40% through the installation of features such as low-flow kitchen and lavatory faucets and showers. The Center for Student Services at 100 Bay State features similar low-flow plumbing and kitchen fixtures.
Located in many places on campus, the EcoPower hydro turbine in faucets and toilets is powered by the motion of the water running through it; this motion creates an electrical current, which is then stored in rechargeable cells that power the Smart Sensor Systems. Dual-flush toilets can also be found in around 25 locations on campus and throughout all 47 floors at 33 Harry Agganis Way (Student Village 2).
Waterless urinals are in use at 670 Albany Street.
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A brief description of any policies or programs employed by the institution to replace appliances, equipment and systems with water-efficient alternatives:
Most washing machines on campus are high efficiency.
Dishwashers at the Center for Student Services have a built in heat recovery system which uses exhaust heat to preheat rinse water, significantly reducing water and energy usage. In addition, these dishwashers only use about 60 gallons of water compared to the 300 gallons per hour used by a conventional dishwasher.
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A brief description of any water-efficient landscape design practices employed by the institution (e.g. xeriscaping):
Drought tolerant plants are selected where appropriate in other areas on campus. The Medical Student Residence at 815 Albany Street, for example, uses drought-tolerant landscaping to reduce potable water consumption for irrigation.
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A brief description of any weather-informed irrigation technologies employed by the institution:
The University has a decentralized irrigation program with over 140 irrigation systems (approximately 50% incorporate drip irrigation) installed across the Charles River Campus. All these irrigation systems incorporate localized rain sensors to reduce water waste.
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A brief description of other water conservation and efficiency strategies employed by the institution:
BU has four Certified Green Restaurants on campus. As part of the certification, certain requirements are met that include low-flow pre-rinse spray valves in dishrooms, low-flow nozzles on prep and hand sinks, as well as Energy Star rated dish machines.
The new dining hall, Marciano Commons, is built in a LEED Gold building and employs state of the art energy savings infrastructure such as a heat recovery system for both HVAC and water heating.
In 2008, Dining Services eliminated the use of trays in all residential dining halls. By doing so, we reduced our water use by an estimated 35,000 gallons per week as well as reduced food waste by 30%.
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The website URL where information about the institution’s water conservation and efficiency initiatives is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.