Overall Rating	Gold
Overall Score	73.23
Liaison	Heather Albert-Knopp
Submission Date	Feb. 28, 2022

STARS v2.2

College of the Atlantic
OP-21: Water Use

Status

Score

Responsible Party

3.41 / 4.00

Andrea Russell
Sustainability Coordinator and Community Energy Center Program Manager
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Level of ”Physical Risk Quantity” for the institution’s main campus as indicated by the World Resources Institute Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas:

Low

Part 1. Reduction in potable water use per person

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

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal	6,308.75 Cubic meters	7,596.88 Cubic meters

Potable water use:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use	6,308.75 Cubic meters	7,596.88 Cubic meters

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

	Start Date	End Date
Performance Period	July 1, 2020	June 30, 2021
Baseline Period	July 1, 2005	June 30, 2006

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:

The College's first year of complete data is from FY-06 (7/1/05-6/30/06).

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users":

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site	170	104
Number of employees resident on-site	6	0
Number of other individuals resident on-site	4	0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment	345	296
Full-time equivalent of employees	93	94
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education	0	0
Weighted campus users	376.50	318.50

Potable water use per weighted campus user:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use per weighted campus user	16.76 Cubic meters	23.85 Cubic meters

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

29.75

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	17,635.50 Gross square meters	14,153.49 Gross square meters

Potable water use per unit of floor area:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use per unit of floor area	0.36 Cubic meters per square meter	0.54 Cubic meters per square meter

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

33.35

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

Area of vegetated grounds:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds	11.51 Hectares	11.51 Hectares

Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds	548.03 Cubic meters per hectare	659.93 Cubic meters per hectare

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

16.96

Optional Fields

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

Information sheets are posted above most toilets, showing annual and per/flush volume for standard and low-flow toilets. These sheets remind users there are low-flow and composting toilets (using zero water) available on campus.

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

The Kathryn W. Davis (KWD) Student Residential Village comprises three separate duplex units each with three levels, with each duplex sharing a central common space. In each duplex, gray water from showers preheats incoming cold water to reduce the amount of hot water needed to take a comfortable shower thus saving on energy use. Also, to reduce water use associated with flushing toilets the 51 bed KWD Residential Village has composting toilets on all second and third floor levels of each duplex. The Deering Common Campus Center uses composting toilets as well as low-flow water fixtures and waterless urinals.

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

All new and replacement fixtures are high efficiency/low flow. This is the practice of the buildings and grounds department on campus. In December 2021 and January 2022, all 44 showerheads on campus were replaced with WaterSense certified low-flow, 1.5 gallon per minute models. We anticipate that this will reduce campus-wide water use by 5-10%.
From COA's Sustainable Building policy: "A 'new building space' refers to any renovation or addition made to an existing building or to the construction of any new building or structure." The requirements for fixture replacement / installation are as follows:
New building spaces must incorporate design for greywater and non-toxic rainwater collection systems whenever possible.
Water meters must be installed for all new building spaces to monitor hot and cold water use.
All water fixtures installed in a new building space must conform to the most current EPA WaterSense specifications.

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

http://coa.edu/about/environmental-commitment/publications-policies/

Additional documentation to support the submission:

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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

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